


Dreaming To Reality: Oneiromancy

by Mouko, Yuki



Series: Dreaming To Reality [4]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon - Japanese, Drama, Dreaming To Reality, F/M, Gen, M/M, Remix, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-25 23:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 66,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14389077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mouko/pseuds/Mouko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuki/pseuds/Yuki
Summary: The Digimon Kaiser had been outed, defeated, and purified. Life should have been peaceful for the Chosen, but when the Digimon Kaiser reappears, colder and more distant than ever, his war continues anew. With their lives on the line, the Chosen are forced to face not only enemies that should have been their friends but even the source of the Dark Ocean itself.





	1. Chapter 1

The chilly early December morning air showed no signs of warming up, even as the winter sun rose above the horizon in to the sky. Hints of ice appeared around the edges of every glass surface, waiting for someone to manually remove it, as there would be no help from Mother Nature.

Hikari sighed, her warm breath turning to a puff of mist in the cold air. From her arms, YukimiBotamon watched the little cloud her partner had breathed out before she purposely blew a puff of her own to join it.

The small white Digimon met her partner’s gaze as Hikari let out a giggle, before her expression grew solemn. “It’s really getting cold out now, isn’t it? Be careful where you walk, there might be ice.”

Hikari nodded. Despite the fact that her partner was a Baby at the moment, it seemed everything was back to normal between them. YukimiBotamon talked the same as she always did, which was admittedly surreal, given that the little Digimon couldn’t pull off the same serious expressions she could as Tailmon; they wound up looking more adorable or strange than anything else.

To her credit, if being in such a small form bothered YukimiBotamon, she did a good job of covering it up. Instead, she kept her mature attitude as she looked past the ice-accented road towards the school. “I can’t believe it’s December already. The year has passed so quickly.”

Another sigh escaped Hikari before she nodded again. “Yeah… A lot has happened this year, hasn’t it?”

YukimiBotamon paused at that before she drooped. “Yes… a lot _has_ happened.”

It still felt so surreal to Hikari. Weeks had passed since the fateful battle with Armagemon, and they were no closer to finding Ken. The Digital World was slowly rebuilding, one piece at a time, as peace returned to the Digimon. Even the Chosen Children themselves had settled down to a more normal schedule without the constant threat of war with one of their own.

Yet, even as the Digital World itself healed, some wounds still hadn’t.

Hikari couldn’t help but wonder if she was the only one that even cared that Ken was still missing. If any of the other Chosen Children were, they did a good job of not showing it. Even Ken’s parents had stopped doing all the talk shows, pleading for his return while chastising him in the same breath. No one cared anymore, and they had gone on with their lives.

It made Hikari’s heart hurt all the more.

Silence weighed between them before Hikari muttered, more to herself than her partner. “I hope Ken is doing okay. It’s been weeks since…”

Subconsciously, she pulled YukimiBotamon a little closer to her body.

YukimiBotamon snuggled in to her partner. “I know,” She hesitated before she lowered her gaze. “All we can do is hope… and wait. If something were wrong, surely Keiko would’ve said something. But as it stands...”

“Yeah…” Hikari mumbled. “She hasn’t said anything at all… I never thought I’d _want_ to dream of the Dark World, but… I want to know how she and Nyamon are doing too.”

“I know,” YukimiBotamon said, softly.

The rest of the trip to the school was somber, though thankfully the weather encouraged Hikari to be brisk, making it end that much quicker. As the Chosen of Light stepped through the front gates, she was immediately greeted by noise - running, shouting, and the sounds of a ball being kicked about. They were familiar sounds, prompting her to glance towards the soccer field. The soccer club was having one of its last few practices before it would be out for the rest of the year - what little there was - before resuming again in the spring.

Hikari couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the boys, as the cold bit at them in their uniforms. The only real defense they had was the heat of their own bodies as they ran their exercises, which would last only as long as their own movements.

YukimiBotamon blinked when she spotted Takeru as he played along with the others, running along the field. “Takeru looks _cold_.” She paused when another boy caught her eye. She went quiet as she saw Daisuke kicking the ball about, focused on it rather than his surroundings. She made a face, her mouth drawing tight. “...Daisuke too.”

“Yeah,” Hikari murmured. She could only briefly settle her gaze on Daisuke before an unpleasant bitterness welled up in her heart and forced her to look away. She tried to feel happy that, at least, Daisuke and Takeru seemed to be getting along as well as ever. She didn’t hate Daisuke. Even after he ruined all her hard work and refused to listen to her no matter what she said in spite of all the time and trust they had together, she didn’t want to end their friendship. In spite of all the doubt his sister Jun had leveled against him in the beginning, she believed him and was proven right in the end that he was a good person, someone who she wouldn’t think badly of.

Hikari could never hate Daisuke. She just hated how he made her feel.

YukimiBotamon’s ears drooped as her beady eyes narrowed, before she let out a huff. “Well, let’s leave them alone for now. We’ll see him enough as it is when we go to the Village of Beginnings after school.”

Hikari was torn about agreeing, not wanting to give in to these bitter feelings, but eventually she nodded all the same. “Yeah… We can talk to Takeru and Patamon after practice ends.”

YukimiBotamon gave a nod at that. “Sounds good.”

Hikari quickly moved out of sight so neither the boys nor their hidden partners could see her heading towards the school. While part of her still felt incredibly guilty about avoiding them, it was no match for the complicated emotions driving her onward away from her friends. Perhaps when they found Ken, and things started to improve, she would be able to address the tension between her and Daisuke. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so responsible for what had happened - for how everything had turned out - or her resentment for Daisuke’s hand in it. For now, she would focus on the Digital World and hope that another clue to Ken came soon enough and they could all be friends again.

She just wished that she could shake the feeling that the peace was nothing more than a lull before the storm - the eye of a hurricane - and that something bad was about to happen.

* * *

Waves of gray gently lapped against the monochrome shore, underneath a perpetually overcast sky. The scene would have been serene, albeit dreary, if not for the knowledge of what was hidden beneath the tranquil surface.

The only thing the Dark Ocean ever promised was death and madness.

A small group of Digimon walked along the shore, heading towards the waves. Leading the way were the Devas of the Holy Beast Zhuqiaomon - the snake Deva Sandiramon, the horse Deva Indramon, and the sheep Deva Pajiramon. Behind them, wobbling back and forth with a bright grin on his face that totally belied the seriousness of the situation, was Neemon.

Sandiramon slithered right up to the shore and gave a small sniff at the water before he jerked back as the waves seemed to suddenly reach for him, sending the snake scurrying out of range as he abandoned his dignity in the moment.

“Careful, careful~!” Neemon said, cheerfully. “Unless you want a permanent vacation, you should probably avoid taking a dip~!”

Sandiramon curled up around himself as he glared at the water, then towards Neemon. “Keep your comments to _yourself_ , _wretch_.”

“It’s just as disgusting as I knew it would be,” Indramon said as he stared out across the water, looking to the vast horizon that continued onward indefinitely. “A land befitting its master.”

“We’re not here for sightseeing,” Pajiramon said before she turned to look down at Neemon expectantly.

Neemon removed two of the three necklaces he wore and twirled one on each hand, creating a streak of black and pink at his sides, leaving the golden one resting against his scarred chest.

Indramon reached out for the blurs, only to flinch slightly when Neemon released the crests and sent them flying into the horse Deva’s face.

Panjamon stared impassively as Indramon let out a snort, his disapproving glare somehow managing to sneak past his long mane as it covered his face. “We must hurry. Even with Neemon’s Obfuscation Aura, it is only a matter of time before Narakumon notices something amiss.”

“You give him far too much credit,” Sandiramon said, with a vicious smirk. “He was useless against the so-called ‘Digimon Kaiser’, so what do _we_ possibly have to fear?”

“Narakumon would have known who the Digimon Kaiser was, and chose not to tell anyone,” Panjamon replied. “We can only assume that they were allies.”

Sandiramon considered his comrade’s words before he let out an angry hiss, his tongue flickering out of his mouth. “Which means he would most certainly interfere.”

“Enough talking, more doing~!” Neemon said, waving his hands to the Devas. “Or are you just going to talk Ken-chan to death~?”

“Agreed,” Pajiramon said. “The time for talk has passed.”

Indramon walked straight up to the shoreline, or at least as far as he dared, before he came to a stop. “All that is left to do is decide _where_.”

“Does it matter?” Sandiramon asked, more rhetorically than expecting an answer as he looked around. “In this hellhole, it really doesn’t matter where you die - or be _killed_ , in this case.”

“Indeed,” Indramon agreed before he lifted the his hoof, the neckband for the Crest of Darkness and the Crest of Kindness wrapped around it so that they both dangled in the air before him.

The snake Deva watched his comrade before he turned to Pajiramon. “Do you really think this is necessary? He’s just a human.”

“You forget where we are,” Pajiramon replied. “And what befell Lord Huanglongmon at this very place.”

Sandiramon paused at that before he grimaced, his hood flaring.

“We must erase all trace of his existence from this world,” Indramon agreed. “Only then can we be certain that he can cause no more harm to our world.”

Sandiramon let out a snort, flaring his nose. “Just like an _infestation_. How fitting…”

“Indeed,” Pajiramon said,

“Get into position,” Indramon said. Without waiting for confirmation from his comrades, the horse Deva lifted his hoof towards the dangling crests. His hoof began to glow gold, and an aura appeared around the crests. The light pulsed before the aura quickly turned black, the crest of Darkness eagerly devouring the energy that Indramon provided it. As it did, pink suddenly sprang forth, attacking the blackness as eagerly as it had gone after the gold.

As the crests consumed each other’s energy, something within the water started to react. The serene surface bubbled and splashed violently, as if a great turmoil was happening beneath the surface. The sounds of screams, full of fear and pain, could faintly be heard as the water grew increasingly troubled.

Suddenly, the water exploded out in all directions, as if being viciously repelled by an explosion from deep below the surface. The Dark Ocean surged away from all sides, fleeing from the source of the detonation.

“It worked,” Sandiramon said, with a hiss. “That bastard really is here!”

Indramon stepped forward even as he still held the crests outward. “Step forward, _Kindness_ , and-”

The horse Deva’s words were cut short as a whip lashed out, wrapping around Indramon’s throat with a snap. The Digimon could barely let out a strangled gasp before he was yanked forward, into the crater left by the retreating water.

A massive blue dragon with golden claws came into view, his enormous wings fanning out wide to show off the wing-like sharp ridges along his upper arms. A white dragon skull mask with red markings and golden horns covered his face, with a matching white breastplate covering his chest. Twin golden orbs floated around him in circles, glowing with a royal purple hue that kept the terrified ocean waters at bay.

The dragon Digimon opened his gaping maw to greet the hapless horse Digimon, snapping down on him and crushing the Digimon in his jaws with a sickening _crunch_. Data flew upwards through his razor sharp teeth as Indramon died without even a chance to scream. The dragon Digimon let out a low rumble before he turned to glare at the stunned Pajiramon and Sandiramon, murderous intent clear in his cold gold eyes.

The crests fell downwards, dropping to the dragon’s feet to land harmlessly on the moist sand.

“W-what the-who the hell are you!?” Sandiramon demanded as he arched up, fanning his hoods. “You’re not… you’re not Wormmon!”

“What an astute observation.”

A teenage boy with wild short hair that appeared to be somewhere in between midnight blue and indigo emerged from the parted waters, looking to be about fifteen years old. He wore a long black jacket with gold trim and matching gold accents around the waist, and purple shoulder pads. Hints of red inner lining flickering through as he walked, mingling with the brief flashes of the blue-gray pants and shirt he wore under his coat. His silver buckle glinted in the light, standing out vividly against his black belt, as his blue-gray shoes with a white center stripe crunched the wet sand under his feet.

The strange boy paused to reach down, plucking up the Crest of Darkness and Kindness off the sand with his free hand as the other held the black whip that had pulled Indramon to his death, his hands protected with matching blue-gray gloves that sported white traced with gold on the back of his hands. He straightened back up and gave the crests a twirl. The band spun about his pointer finger idly before landing with a ‘clink’ against the human’s silver-white cuffs around his wrist - identical to the ones around his other wrist and both ankles.

The boy gave the two Digimon a deadpan stare through his sleek, goggle-like gold glasses. Behind him, Wingdramon lowered his head so that it was directly above the human child, flaring his nostrils as he let out a rumbling growl.

“I’d say I was impressed,” the teenage boy said in a smooth low tone. “But then I’d be lying.”

“Just who-!?” Sandiramon gasped, incredulous. The vision before him could only fit one person - and even then, it didn’t fit them _at all_. “You can’t be… Ken!?”

The regally dressed boy stared hard at Sandiramon, his expression still as deadpan as it had been when he first appeared. “‘It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.’” he recited, his voice dry.

“I have heard that humans _do_ evolve, though more slowly and gradually than Digimon,” Pajiramon said as she aimed her bow directly at the human child before her. “Perhaps this is the result of his time within the Dark Ocean.”

Sandiramon stared at the sheep Digimon before he turned his attention back to the newcomer. “I-it doesn’t matter - you’re _dead_!”

The boy barely paid attention to the threat as slid the Crest of Darkness and Kindness around his neck. “I’d thank you for giving me the means to finally escape the Dark Ocean by introducing myself before you died, but I know what you were really planning to do with these crests.” With a snap of his fingers, the dragon floating behind him stood at attention. “Drown them, Wingdramon.”

Wingdramon let out a low growl before he fanned his wings wide. As he did, the water around him surged upwards as the panicked screams came back in full force. Like a stampede of spooked cattle attempting to flee a predator, the Dark Ocean rushed forward towards the gaping Devas as they stood dumbstruck on the shoreline.

Neemon watched the carnage from a safe distance, his Obfuscation Aura in full effect as neither Wingdramon nor the Digimon Kaiser noticed his presence. While he had been prepared to swoop in and take the kill for himself, his senses were apparently far better than Zhuqiaomon’s supposed elite servants as they had warned him against making the first strike. Now, thanks to his gut, he was alive while they were dead - or wished they were dead.

But then, it was only natural, as he _was_ a professional.

Neemon lingered only long enough to watch the Devas struggle to escape the tsunami Wingdramon unleashed upon them. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t just water that splashed onto them, but a curse that stole their color where it touched as clawed hands of the damned souls within reached out to take them.

As prideful as the Devas were, they were quickly overcome by the unnatural aura of fear the Dark Ocean radiated, as malformed faces wailing, screaming, laughing, and whispering terrible secrets further disoriented them. They attacked blindly at the waves, but Wingdramon somehow managed to continually force the water outward until it dragged them, screaming and struggling, into the Dark Ocean.

Soon, the Devas were gone, leaving only evidence of their desperation behind in the streaks left behind on the sand.

Neemon silently took in all of this with half-open eyes and a smile that split his face. He had seen the Dark Ocean take Digimon before, but it not while they were still alive. However, as interesting as the scene had been, he couldn’t ignore the sight of the Digimon Kaiser standing there on the shore, calm and untainted, scanning the area. There was little doubt who the boy was looking for.

If Ken had learned how to influence the Dark Ocean, then the last place Neemon wanted to be was in his crosshairs again.

Revenge would have to wait a little longer, but it would come. It would come. Neemon had spent far too long dreaming of what he would do to Ken, of the finale of his masterpiece, to let it go. For now, he would retreat back into the shadows and look for new opportunities to orchestrate the next movement in his composition.

* * *

Even with the sun shining brightly in the clear blue sky, the ruins of the Village of Beginnings looked no better than they had the first time the Chosen Children visited. Decay and destruction was everywhere, with seemingly no attempt at repairing the damage having been made.

Taichi ran his fingers through his hair as he slowly took in the devastation. “So… where do we start?”

“Are we supposed to… fix this ourselves?” Sora asked as she glanced about the ruined buildings, furrowing her brow. “Before the eggs will start coming?”

“I don’t think so,” Takeru said, with a frown. “The Village of Beginnings started working as soon as Apocalymon was dead. We didn’t need to actually _do_ anything.”

“It doesn’t seem as though destroying all the Dark Towers had any effect,” Koshiro said, laptop cradled in his arms. He checked the map of the Digital World for any dark patches on the grid scanner, but there was nothing but white. “We might want to try investigating the area for anything else unusual.”

“That’s a good idea,” Yamato said as he put his hands on his hips. “There must be something we’re missing.”

Mimi furrowed her brow at the deary, washed out colors and felt a pang of sadness as she remembered Kyoumon. “Maybe all we need to do is rebuild it, and it’ll start back up again?”

“Before we start any back-breaking manual labor,” Miyako said as she adjusted her glasses. “We should take a look around and make sure we won’t just be wasting our time.”

“And look for survivors,” Daisuke added, his expression severe.

“Ken wouldn’t have killed the babies,” Hikari said, her voice quiet, but firm.

Daisuke’s fingers twitched at his sides, but his gaze lingered on the ruins around them. “I didn’t say that.”

Hikari fixated on a rotting bassinet that had been split in half as she cradled her partner close to her chest. “I know.”

“You all can worry about what Ken did or _didn’t_ do later,” YukimiBotamon said as she eyed Daisuke before glancing about. “Let’s split up and look around. We’ll cover more ground that way.”

“If anyone sees anything, let everyone else know,” Jou said as he adjusted his glasses. “Even if it seems quiet, we can’t take chances.”

“Good idea,” Taichi said as he placed his hand on Hikari’s shoulder before jerking his thumb in the direction of the slowly setting sun. “Hikari, Sora, and I will go this way. Yamato, you head the other way with Takeru, Daisuke, and Jou. Koshiro, you, Mimi, Miyako, and Iori head to the center and we’ll meet up with you from the edges of the village.”

“You got it,” Yamato said with a nod.

“We will do our best,” Iori said.

“I’ll protect Iori!” Kyokyomon declared, with great enthusiasm.

“Oh, yes,” Pafumon said as she wiggled her ears. “We definitely need to be on guard… weeds and peeling paint _are_ pretty terrifying.”

Miyako barely stifled a snicker. “Oh yes, they’re the worst, especially when Mom’s giving out the week’s chores.”

“Don’t worry, Daisuke,” V-mon said as he clenched his fists, keeping his voice low. “I’ll keep my eyes, ears, and nose out for Ken!”

Daisuke nodded, his expression solemn. “The second we find that guy-”

“When we find Ken, we’re _talking_ to him,” Hikari said, raising her voice as her muscles stiffened.

Daisuke’s mouth twitched into a grimace twisted between pain and anger. “Why? So he can pretend he wants to be our friend all over again?”

“Okay!” Taichi said a little too loudly as he placed both hands on Hikari’s shoulders and nudged her forward at a brisk walk. “Come on, everybody, let’s get going. This place isn’t going to fix itself!”

Hikari said nothing, biting her tongue as she let Taichi lead her away from a potential argument. With her head hanging low and no hair clips to hold her hair back, her bangs cast a shadow across her eyes.

The other Chosen reluctantly headed in their own directions, grouping together like Taichi had suggested. Takeru followed after his brother, though he lingered back to walk alongside Daisuke. He occasionally glanced over to the goggle boy, noting the severe tension in his face as he occasionally looked back over his shoulder in the direction Taichi’s team went.

Takeru watched the goggle boy for several moments before he furrowed his brow. “Daisuke, are you okay?”

Daisuke jerked at the unexpected question, his head whipping back around so he could look at Takeru. He tried to smile, but all his mouth could form was a grimace. His mouth opened, a lie of platitudes hovering on his tongue, before he closed it again with a sigh. “No, man, I’m not.”

“I had a feeling,” Takeru said as he lowered his voice, slowing his steps so that he was walking alongside the Chosen of Tenacity. “Want to talk about it?”

Daisuke let out a frustrated puff of air through his nose as his shoulders slumped a little. “What’s there to talk about? Ken was lying and spying on us the whole time, and Hikari forgives him for doing it, but not me for being mad at him.”

Takeru blinked. “I’m sure Hikari understands why you’re angry, she’s just… _very_ focused. I think she’s taking it very personally that everything went so… well, _badly_.”

Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not her fault Ken was lying to us the whole time, but she’s too quick to give people a second chance before they even deserve it.”

“Hikari has a big heart,” Takeru agreed. “But she’s also extremely stubborn.” He flashed Daisuke a grin. “I think it’s hereditary.”

Daisuke blinked, staring at Takeru. “Stubborn? _Hikari_?”

Takeru’s grin widened. “When she puts her mind to something, it’s actually really hard to discourage her. While she will give in to Taichi or her friends, if she _really_ believes in what she’s doing… then it’s like a brick wall.”

Daisuke nodded after a moment, still baffled by the notion that Hikari might have been as stubborn as Taichi. “Yeah… I guess. She gave up all her friends at school last year to stick by me and stood up to Jun for me, but that’s because she’s got the biggest heart I’ve ever seen.”

“And that’s the same reason she’s doing her best to find Ken, even after everything that he’s done,” Takeru said. “She’s not willing to give up on him. And honestly, I don’t think anyone is.”

A rumble of displeasure escaped Daisuke before he kicked an errant stone to the side. “So everyone but me is just forgetting what he did and forgiving him just like that?”

“No,” Takeru said with a shake of his head. “But it’s more… even if he did lie to us and trick us, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a kid - a _Chosen_ \- like us. And I don’t think anyone here hopes that something _bad_ has happened to Ken.”

Daisuke let out a noncommittal grunt as he found another stone to kick.

“I’m sure most of us have some choice words for him, not just you,” Takeru said as he looked up to the sky. “But no one really had a chance to say anything. There’s no closure, nothing of any kind. And then what happened with Wormmon, and… we can’t really be certain he took that well at all.” He paused before shaking his head. “No, I _know_ he didn’t. If he cared about Wormmon at all, that was like a knife right to his heart… just like it was for _me_ when Patamon died.”

Patamon, who had been trying to give Takeru a little space to talk with Daisuke, couldn’t help but flutter closer to his partner when he overheard those words.

“Like how Hikari doesn’t seem to ever let go of YukimiBotamon these days, right?” Daisuke muttered.

Takeru nodded, with a grimace. “Yeah, it’s… I know our partners won’t die permanently, but it’s still an awful feeling. I didn’t - and still don’t - want _anyone_ else to feel like I did.”

Daisuke looked to V-mon for a moment before placing his hand atop his partner’s head. “Yeah, me neither.”

“That’s probably part of it, too,” Takeru said. “They both lost their partners at the same time - even worse, hers _killed_ his. Even if Tailmon had no choice, it’s still… knowing the pain he’s feeling, and knowing that she had a hand in it, even if she didn’t _want_ to.”

Daisuke flinched as a pool of guilt churned in his belly.

“I’m sure Hikari has forgiven you,” Takeru said as he glanced back at Daisuke. “Like I said, I’m sure she understands that you’re justified in feeling angry. It’s just that she’s already past that point, and is out to find Ken - if she was even angry in the first place. We’re all just catching up, basically.”

Daisuke rubbed his face as his stomach twisted and made him regret eating before they came here. “I guess…”

V-mon looked up at his partner, drooping. “Daisuke…”

In another area of the Village of Beginnings, the conversation was far less heavy and far more focused on the situation at hand - namely, fixing the village that brought life to the Digital World. As Koshiro, Miyako, Iori, and Mimi checked every inch of the rubble, no answer was forthcoming.

“There has to be something,” Koshiro said as he peered behind a slab of rubble, lifting it upwards slightly with a grunt of exertion. “We just have to find it.”

“What precisely are we looking for?” Iori asked as he craned his head, looking up at the roof of one of the destroyed buildings.

“At Factory Town, I found an area that had lines of code written on the walls,” Koshiro said before he let go of the chunk of wall, jerking back instinctively as it thunked to the ground close to his feet. “It actually controlled all of Factory Town. It’s just a theory, but the Village of Beginnings may have its _own_ control room as well.”

“It’s certainly better than any _other_ theory we have right now,” Miyako said as she adjusted her glasses, then glanced up to Pafumon as her partner hovered high in the sky. “Do you see anything, Pafumon?”

“Define ‘anything’,” Pafumon replied as she wiggled her ears. “Rocks? Yes. Rubble? Yes. Devastation? Yes. Anything worth our time? Nope, nope, nope!”

“Delightful,” Miyako sighed as she put her hands to her hips. “Well, I suppose it’s better than spending all our time battling evil or mind controlled Digimon.”

Mimi grimaced as she glanced around at the devastation around them, then clasped her hands together with a sharp clap. “Even if it doesn’t really help, maybe we _should_ still clean up-”

“Koshiro, we have found something!” Tentomon’s voice interrupted Mimi, drawing the Chosen’s attention over to the insect Digimon and Palmon as the two stood by a large fountain. The fountain had long since gone dry and looked a little worse for wear. However, the Chosen soon saw what had gotten the Digimon’s attention - the fountain had been moved aside at some point, exposing a stairwell leading down.

“Look, look!” Palmon said as she waved her hands. “It goes underground!”

Koshiro’s eyes lit up with interest as he hurried over to the stairwell. “Good work, Tentomon! This might just lead us to what we’re looking for.”

Mimi peered down into the dark depths of the underground and the rusting metal spiral staircase that quickly disappeared into the gloom. “Looks creepy…”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, this whole _place_ looks creepy,” Pafumon said as she landed on Miyako’s head. “That’s what happens when you _destroy everything_.”

“I’m contacting the others,” Iori said as he pulled out his DT2 and quickly typed an email.

Miyako reached back into her backpack and pulled out an electric lantern that she switched on. “Well, we won’t find out what’s down there staring from up here. Let’s go.”

Koshiro nodded and, with a small sliver of trepidation, led the others down the staircase. With Mimi’s anxiousness, it meant that he, as one of the older and more experienced members of the group, needed to be the one to lead.

The stairwell was actually fairly short, leading the Chosen in to a small room no bigger than the fountain that had apparently hidden it for so long. The circular room was mostly bare, save for the faint writing along the tops of the wall that gave off an eerie pink glow.

Koshiro’s eyes widened when he spotted particular on the writing high along the top of the wall. He quickly rushed down the rest of the steps, pulling out his laptop back out of his bag. “I _knew_ it! It’s just like Factory Town!”

“It is,” Tentomon agreed as he followed his partner. “Though, wasn’t that code written all _over_ the wall, as opposed to just along the top?”

Koshiro scanned the walls with his laptop, typing furiously along the keys. “Yes, but that…” His voice trailed off on an uncomfortable note as he already finished translating the code.

Mimi blinked as she noticed Koshiro’s odd expression. “What is it?”

Koshiro shifted uncomfortably as he glanced from the laptop to the text, confirming that his translation was indeed accurate. “It’s… uh… I think it’s a message from Ken to the Holy Beasts.”

“What’s it say?” Mimi asked as she leaned in closer, only for Koshiro to back up and turn the laptop screen away from her.

Koshiro fidgeted. “It’s, uh, well…”

“He told the Holy Beasts to fuck off,” Miyako said flatly.

Mimi gawked at Miyako’s use of foul language, jaw hanging open for a moment before she sputtered. “What?!”

Miyako readjusted her glasses before clearing her throat. “It says, and I quote, ‘The Holy Beasts may escape from the Dark World when Keiko and Ryo do. And given that miracles do not exist, this means you can all fuck off.’”

It took Mimi a moment to come up with a response as she looked at the pink lines of text that looked like little more than squiggles to her eyes. While a part of her wanted to protest such language and chastise Ken, the reason why left her too uncomfortable to say anything but, “Oh.”

Koshiro focused back on his laptop, relieved that he didn’t have to give Mimi an exact transcript of the text. “I’m going to see if there’s anything else here…”

Miyako shrugged before she slowly circled the room, shining her lantern against the walls in search of anything else of note. “I guess Ken wanted to give the middle finger to any Holy Beast followers who came here trying to fix the village to bring them back. Makes me wonder why he hid it down here though. There doesn’t look like there’s any actual code here.”

“I believe this room was here from the start,” Tentomon said. “Much like the room at Factory Town, this room controlled all of the Village of Beginning’s operations.” He paused before looking upward at the top of the walls. “And yet, there doesn’t seem to be any useful code. Why would Factory Town require more code than the Village of Beginnings? The factory ultimately served no purpose, while this village allows all Digimon to live.”

Iori stared at the walls for several moments, furrowing his brow. After a moment his eyes widened as a cold, chilling thought came to him. Slowly, he turned to Miyako. “What if Ken wrote his message _over_ the code? Is it possible?”

A dead silence settled over the room as Koshiro paused with his fingers hovering over the keys. Slowly, he turned to Iori with widening eyes, then up at the code that was written along the walls. Realization dawned on his face, and with it shock and horror.

“It _would_ keep the Holy Beasts from being revived,” Iori said, his expression becoming grim. “Especially if none of their servants can manipulate Digital Code. They can’t fix what Ken had done, making it the nail in their proverbial coffin.”

The very thought sent Koshiro to the ground to place his laptop on his folded legs so he could type furiously on the keys. Digging deeper into the code, the very life of the Digital World, he probed for that very core code that Ken had taught him how to find.

Mimi felt a chill along her spine, along with a sense of dread that was making her sick to her stomach. The fact that Ken would go so far as to doom all of the Digimon to spite a certain few was unthinkable, she couldn’t bring herself to understand it - or _want_ to understand it. Clasping her hands together and trying to stop her shifting from foot to foot, she turned to Koshiro with an almost desperate hope glinting in her eyes. “But… you can fix it, right? You can repair the code, can’t you, Koshiro?”

Koshiro didn’t respond right away as he continued to look through the core code. The longer the silence reigned, the more the question lingered over everyone’s head - and in turn, the more anxious the other Chosen became. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Chosen of Knowledge stopped and lowered his hands, staring at the screen.

Tentomon landed on the ground beside his partner and glanced up to his stricken face, the sight not bringing any comfort. “Koshiro?”

“No,” Koshiro said quietly. “I can’t fix this.”

Mimi felt her dread intensify, her eyes beginning to water. “W-what? But you… but you can read the code! You can-”

“I can see where the code used to be, and what it used to affect,” Koshiro admitted, reluctantly. “But everything has been wiped completely clean. It’d have to recreate it from scratch. And while it’s _possible_ that I could _eventually_ figure it out, who knows what’d happen to the eggs in the meantime? What if my code glitches them - or… or _worse_?”

Iori glanced down at Kyokyomon, visualizing what might have happened if his egg had glitched, before he grimaced. “Yes, it’s far too risky.”

Mimi fell to the floor, sitting on her knees. She stared at Koshiro for a moment before she glanced around helplessly at the others, tears in her eyes. “But then… what about the Digimon? What are we going to do?”

“I sincerely doubt Ken just _deleted_ the code,” Miyako said gruffly before she lifted her glasses to rub a hand across her face. “With how important it is, there’s no way he’d just wipe it out entirely. He probably saved a copy first.”

“And I would think that Tenraimon’d be able to fix the code, as well,” Iori said as he glanced to the Chosen of Passion. “It does fall under her domain.”

“So we either need Ken to fix it, or Tenraimon,” Koshiro said as he looked back down at his laptop. “And neither option is… really available to us right now.”

“That brat can’t sulk forever,” Pafumon said as she wiggled her ears. “Eventually he’ll _have_ to come crawling out of the woodwork.”

“And we do plan on helping Tenraimon recover,” Palmon said as she moved to sit beside her partner, reaching to grasp Mimi’s hand for support. “So it’s just a matter of whichever comes first, right?”

Mimi nodded with a quiet sound of affirmation as she gratefully squeezed Palmon’s hand. “We’re going to make everything okay again…” She looked to her friends with a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. “Right?”

“Right!” Palmon agreed.

“Of course,” Iori said with a nod.

“Leave it to me!” Kyokyomon agreed.

“It’s just one more thing on our ‘to do’ list,” Miyako said as she put her hands on her hips. “No problem.”

“Of course, Pafumon said. “Miyako’s on the case, so you know it’ll get done.”

Koshiro didn’t say a word, instead focusing on his laptop as the other Chosen Children comforted themselves and tried to raise their demoralized spirits. There really wasn’t much any of them could do at the moment, least of all him. While he couldn’t be as confident as Miyako that Ken _had_ kept a copy, he was willing to hold on to that hope for as long as he could. It was frustrating, feeling so helpless even when he was in his element, but even he knew when to _not_ tinker with something. With how many ways a computer could corrupt data, there was no end to the horrific possibilities if he blindly tried to recreate the data from scratch.

They had no choice but to wait.

Ultimately, everything pointed back to the boy genius, the Digimon Kaiser, and the Chosen of Kindness - Ken Ichijouji.

“Ken… where _are_ you?” Koshiro murmured, softly.

* * *

It was a miracle that the computer systems were still functioning, though even that wasn’t of much help to FlaWizarmon or Witchmon. While they had a rough idea of how to use the machines, neither was on the same level as Ken. They needed the Chosen of Kindness to make the computers work at their full capacity.

Unfortunately, as irony would have it, finding the Chosen of Kindness was why they needed the computers in the first place.

“Still nothing,” FlaWizarmon said with a sigh, slouched in the chair that had supported the much smaller boy genius for so long. He wearily looked up at the monitors as they displayed the Digital World and the crest energies flowing through it - specifically, the bright pink glow of Kindness. Unfortunately, the only light that appeared was the natural flow of the crest itself, and nothing else.

There was no sign of Ken’s crest anywhere on the map.

Witchmon clucked her tongue. “Well, at the very least, it’s not showing up in the Dark World.”

“But it ain’t showin’ up anywhere else, either,” FlaWizarmon said as he reached up to gingerly rub his brow. “It’s like Ken-chan’s disappeared _completely_ … off the face of the earth, the Digital World, an’ everywhere else!”

“If the Dark Ocean had him, we’d _know_ ,” Witchmon said, softly. “So we can at least rule out _that_ catastrophe.”

FlaWizarmon let out a frustrated grunt as he slapped his hand down onto the armrest. “But so long as we don’t know _where_ he is, we-”

“Get out of my way.”

FlaWizarmon froze at the abruptly barked order, his eyes widening. The sound of an unfamiliar voice was enough to distract him from the sudden pinging on the screen, as the scarecrow Digimon glanced over his shoulder towards the doorway - an action that was mirrored by Witchmon. Both Digimon proceeded to gawk as they found themselves staring at a human child wearing a far more stylized version of the Digimon Kaiser’s outfit, the same boy who had emerged from the Dark Ocean with his monstrous dragon. 

The dragon Digimon had reverted to his child form, a small teal dragon with a white underside, tiny red wings, and twin pronged horns on his head. The Digimon, Dracomon, stared at the two impassively with his sharp red eyes, dutifully standing beside the boy dressed as the Digimon Kaiser.

“Ken-chan…?” Witchmon said slowly even as she hovered backward to make room for the Digimon Kaiser.

FlaWizarmon quickly scrambled out of the throne, moving to the side as the strange child didn’t even wait for him to vacate it before coming to claim it.

The Digimon Kaiser barely gave Witchmon and FlaWizarmon more than an assessing glance before he claimed the throne as his own. He then gestured at the air, calling up viewing screens and a translucent keyboard. “Get to work on bolstering the defenses and our numbers and prepare for battle. Zhuqiaomon is going to pay for everything he’s done.”

FlaWizarmon and Witchmon blinked at the same time as they stared at the child in front of him, then at each other. Only a beat passed before the two smiled brightly and returned their attention to the strange child in Digimon Kaiser regalia.

“You got it, Kaiser-kun~!” they chirped, in unison.

* * *

The sun had long since set in the sky, allowing the temperature to drop considerably as night settled in. Koshiro sat in his comfy chair, bathed in the glow of his computer screen, wrapped up snugly in a fluffy blanket. With heavy-lidded eyes, he scanned through the Digital World’s code while idly chewing on a flavored corn puff snack stick. While most children might find scouring endless strings of data strange, even monotonous, he found it soothing and a good way to relax after a long day.

Besides, the trip to the Village of Beginnings had proven that as much as he knew about the Digital World, Ken still held far more information and experience than he did. If he ever intended to erase the gap between them, he had to keep studying - keep learning - until he truly felt like comfortable with his knowledge.

Besides, it was hardly a chore if he enjoyed doing it.

As Koshiro finished off his current snack stick and reached for another, opening the plastic wrap as if he were peeling a banana, a sudden sharp noise caught his attention. Blinking, he turned to glance around the room, absently sticking one end of the bar in his mouth as he did so. He glanced over to Tentomon, his partner barely visible under the thick blanket of Koshiro’s bed.

Furrowing his brow, Koshiro’s eyes continued their journey across his room before they settled on his laptop, open on top of his dresser. Only then did it finally dawn on him what he was seeing. The laptop, which displayed a map of the Digital World as it ran his scanning program, had finally, after weeks of running, gotten a result.

And there was only one result he had programed it to set off an alert - _Kindness_.

Koshiro’s eyebrows shot straight up as he gaped at the laptop, the half-eaten snack bar falling out of his mouth. He hesitated a moment as the information fully settled in before he lunged from his chair, knocking both it and himself to the floor in the process.

The clatter of the chair drew Tentomon from his warmth coma, the insect peering out from under the blanket just in time to see Koshiro practically crawling across the floor towards his laptop before finally getting back on his feet.

“Koshiro, what is it?” Tentomon asked.

“K-Kindness!” Koshiro blurted out. “My program found Kind…” He paused as soon as he was close enough to get a good look at his laptop screen. “…ness?”

“Kindness!?” Tentomon repeated as he crawled out from under the blanket despite the biting cold. “Ken has returned to the Digital World?”

“I…,” Koshiro hesitated in his words as he looked at the screen, more specifically the icons in front of him - the pink rose of Kindness, the twin moons of Darkness, and the tyrian purple crest that he knew to be the alchemical symbol for gold. “It’s not… just Kindness.”

“What?” Tentomon asked as he landed on the table by the laptop.

“It’s Darkness, but also… Pride,” Koshiro said, confusion clear on his face. “But why is Pride…?”

“Does it matter?” Tentomon asked. “Kindness is there, so it might be Ken.”

Koshiro considered that before he gave a quick shake of his head. “Y-you’re right! I’ve got to-”

Koshiro couldn’t even finish his statement before the screen suddenly glitched. The Chosen of Knowledge and his partner both froze, staring at the map of the Digital World as data flickered seconds before all three symbols disappeared from view - and with it, the entire section of the map. Instead, a large black square covered the grid, obstructing even the topographical symbols that had designated it a mountainous region not even moments before.

“What… just happened?” Tentomon asked, tentatively.

“I don’t know,” Koshiro murmured before he leaned forward to tap at the screen, prompting it to give him a video view of the area. However, rather than display a night time scene of the Digital World, it instead brought him nothing but static - black and white fuzz reminiscent of an old television with no signal.

“What does that mean?” Tentomon asked his partner, tilting his head.

Koshiro shook his head as he furrowed his brow, clicking back out to expand his view. His eyebrows shot straight up to see that the grid he had selected was no longer the only square blackened out. It had spread to those around it, almost like a virus. “T-this is-!”

Tentomon noted his partner’s confusion, taking it as an unfortunate answer to his previous question, before he returned his attention to the screen. “What should we do?”

Koshiro stared at his screen for several moments before he straightened up. He didn’t understand what was happening or what it meant, or what any of it had to do with the three crests he had seen not even moments before. However, there _was_ something he knew with absolute certainty.

“We have to tell the others.”


	2. Chapter 2

Daisuke couldn’t sleep. He didn’t get a lot of sleep these days. Ever since Ken was exposed as the Digimon Kaiser, he found himself too wound up in feelings of betrayal and regret to get much rest. He was only able to distract himself from these destructive thoughts by focusing on other things. That was why he stretched on the bed on his stomach, the darkness of his bedroom only illuminated by the colorful glow of his game system screen as he tried to get past the boss. Beside him, Chibimon was curled up into a ball with a baby blanket overtop him, able to sleep even when Daisuke could not.

After a while, Daisuke got tired of trying and failing to defeat the boss on ultra hard mode and turned off the system. With a quiet sigh, he took off his headphones and set them along with the game system onto his nightstand. Without the glow of the game, the room was pitch black. Breathing deep, he tried to get comfortable, but the intrusive thoughts kept crawling back in despite his weary mind.

Thankfully, the thoughts weren’t able to get too far before a loud ping - both familiar and hauntingly nostalgic - caught Daisuke’s attention.

Daisuke blinked as he stared up at the ceiling, then turned his head towards his nightstand. The flashing light on his D-Terminal signalled for his attention, revealing itself to be the source of the sound, and sent a jolt of realization shot through him.

He had received an urgent chat request.

Instantly, Daisuke snagged the D-Terminal and flipped it open, heart pounding as he found the news he had been waiting to receive for weeks.

_I found a trace of Ken’s crest energy! Meet me at my house tomorrow after school._

A chat window invite immediately popped up, started by Taichi. The instant Daisuke clicked accept, he was bombarded with reactions as all of the Chosen Children seemed to be receiving the news at the same time.

Taichi: FINALLY!!

Yamato: Seriously?

Jou: WHAT

Sora: Are you certain, Koshiro?

Takeru: What do you mean by ‘a trace’?

Miyako: We need details!

Mimi: This is great! ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡

Hikari: Is Ken okay?

Daisuke felt a twinge in his gut at seeing Hikari’s immediate concern for the traitor, but tried to ignore it, as he expected as much already.

Daisuke: Where is he?

Koshiro: Calm down everybody!

Koshiro: I haven’t found Ken yet.

Koshiro: My scanner just found Kindness’ energy.

Koshiro: Which I think is going to lead us to Ken.

Taichi: So same difference right?

Koshiro: It’s just that it disappeared about a minute after I found it.

Takeru: That’s more than we’ve had for the past few weeks.

Iori: Is it possible he has figured out how to hide his crest?

Iori: And the program failed temporarily?

Koshiro: That’s most likely the case.

Miyako: It’d explain where he’s been all this time.

Mimi: I guess Ken is still hiding from us… (╥ᆺ╥；)

Daisuke: Let’s go get him!

Daisuke: We’ve gotta hurry!!!

Yamato: Where did his crest appear?

Taichi: We can check it out, it might be a base.

Iori: There is no guarantee that he would still be there.

Iori: Especially if he realized his crest had been detected.

Koshiro: That’s the problem.

Koshiro: The crest appeared, along with Darkness and Pride, in the mountains.

Koshiro: But then that area suddenly disappeared from my map program.

Koshiro: I get nothing but static when I try to access it.

Taichi: Pride??

Takeru: Wait, Darkness and PRIDE?

Takeru: Not Miracles?

Koshiro: Yes, and now the area is blackened out.

Koshiro: And the surrounding areas too.

Miyako: How big is the blackout area?

Koshiro: The initial blackout was in an 8x8 grid, but it’s expanded since then to 16x16.

Jou: So it’s SPREADING!?

Yamato: I wonder what THAT means.

Taichi: That reminds me!! We still have to find the kid who’s got the Pride crest!

Hikari: Maybe Ken found them, and they’re spending time together.

Daisuke made a noise of frustration as he grit his teeth, the goggle boy reaching up to tug at his hair due to the pent up emotions. It was loud enough to catch Chibimon’s attention, rousing the Digimon from his sleep so that he groggily stared at his partner.

Daisuke: That’s just more reason we need to hurry!!

Daisuke: He’s probably suckering someone else into buying his innocent act and using them to do who knows what!!!

Miyako: Or we can wait until he contacts Hikari.

Miyako: Since, you know, if we all go barreling blindly in after him with you in the lead, he’s just going to run instead of actually talk with us.

Miyako: Plus, in case you never read my info documents…

Miyako: (And I’m pretty sure you don’t.)

Miyako: A grid on the map we set up is 1 kilometer by 1 kilometer in size.

Miyako: It’s already too late to just blindly run around searching for the guy and anyone who might be with him.

Miyako: (For all we know, Ken could’ve just snatched the Pride crest like he did the others and isn’t with anyone.)

Miyako: Especially when everyone here is half (or fully) asleep.

Miyako: It’s 1am, and we’ve got school tomorrow, you know.

Mimi: Actually, I’m on my lunch break right now. ( ๑ ❛ ڡ ❛ ๑ )❤

Mimi: But everyone else should definitely sleep!!! ╰(◉ᾥ◉)╯

Mimi: Palmon and I will send Ken an email and keep an eye out for a reply! ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟ○)ﾂ三ヾ(●ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ

Mimi: We’ll make sure to tell him there’s no hard feelings and he can come back already!!!!! =。:.ﾟ٩(๑>ω<๑)۶:.｡+ﾟ

Hikari: Ken will definitely be glad to hear you say that, Mimi! :)

Daisuke dragged his fingers across his scalp, his teeth scraping back and forth against one another as he tried, and failed to keep his frustration in check. It seemed as though he was the only one to take the situation with the seriousness it deserved.

Chibimon waddled over to his partner before sitting beside him, placing a paw on Daisuke’s knee. “Daisuke?”

Daisuke froze, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t alone before quickly putting his hands down. He turned away from the D-Terminal and the chat, but he couldn’t quite meet his partner’s gaze. “They spotted Ichijouji, but they don’t want to go after him.”

Chibimon’s eyes widened at that. “What!? But why!?”

“Jerk’s still hiding from us,” Daisuke muttered, glaring at the wall. “He blocked us from tracking him, so apparently he could be anywhere by now because he’s a damn coward who won’t face us.”

Chibimon growled in his throat. “Should we go ourselves? I bet I can track him!”

For a moment, Daisuke was tempted, but eventually he slumped against the bed with a defeated sigh. “What’s the point? We haven’t been able to track him down any of the other times we looked. This is the closest we’ve gotten in weeks, and he’s already blocked us.”

Chibimon paused at that before he drooped. “I guess…” He couldn’t deny that, for all his boasts, he really hadn’t been able to deliver on them up until that point.

When Daisuke was able to trust himself not to accidentally harm his partner with his tension, he reached over to stroke Chibimon’s head lightly. “It’s fine. We’ll find him. Sooner or later, he’s going to make a move, then we’ll get him.”

“Right,” Chibimon said, still drooping. “He can’t run forever, even if he tries really, really hard!”

“Right,” Daisuke nodded before he pulled Chibimon close to him, resting his chin atop his partner’s head. “Can’t run from what happened forever.”

\---

“Lord Kaaaaiserrr! Lord Kaaaaiserrrr! Lord Kaaaaiserrrr!”

The chanting of the throng of Digimon came out like a dull roar, practically deafening. Digital monsters of all shapes and sizes stretched out as far as the eye could see, a literal sea of ecstatic Digimon chanting the name of someone who had been their oppressor in the not so distant past as they brandished his new banner - tyrian purple with a black trim - with great gusto.

The very sight of it was almost enough to leave the Digimon Kaiser speechless. Almost.

“Your implementation of my orders exceeded my expectations,” the Digimon Kaiser said to Witchmon and FlaWizarmon as they stood a distance behind him. “I can see why Ken entrusted so many duties to the two of you.”

“But of course, Kaiser-kun~!” FlaWizarmon said as he tugged down on the brim of his hat. “We live to serve, dontcha know.”

“It was actually a lot easier than you’d think,” Witchmon said with a giggle as she covered her mouth with her hand. “The Digimon Kaiser’s name is already very well known and, given all of his accomplishments, it doesn’t take much to get a Digimon to throw their support behind the winning side~! Especially if they’re given a _choice_ in the matter.”

“Strength is freedom,” Dracomon said as he sat beside the Digimon Kaiser, staring out across the gathering of gleeful Digimon. “Strength is security. Strength is _victory_.”

“Well then,” the Digimon Kaiser said as straightened his glasses. “Let’s give the Digimon what they’re here for.” He rose from his throne, his coat billowing behind him in the breeze, as he approached the edge of the balcony to greet his subjects. When his hand rose to the air, the crowd obediently quieted their cheers, some more reluctant than others.

The Digimon Kaiser touched a hidden button in his collar and his voice rang out across the packed stadium. “Digimon, in the past my name as been known to you as a source of fear and subjugation. This was all to prove my power to all of the Digital World, to show that no Digimon, not even the Holy Beasts, can stand before me. Now that you all know that no Digimon is stronger than I, there will be no more petty squabbles of the power hungry and cruel that killed countless of you time and time again. All will be welcome to live in peace under my banner; all will have a place in my new world order without senseless bloodshed; all will be given the chance to grow strong and evolve without end!”

A cheer of approval came from the crowd of Digimon as they began chanting again, in unison. “Lord Kaiser! Lord Kaiser! Lord Kaiser! Lord Kaiser!”

“Lord Kaiserrrr, I love yoooouuu!” a particularly overwrought Gazimon squealed as he waved his little paws, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“The difference is kinda night ‘n day, yeah?” FlaWizarmon muttered, his voice low as he stared at the Digimon Kaiser from his position behind.

Witchmon nodded, her eyes sad. “Poor Ken-chan was too afraid to give the Digimon freedom. It’s pretty amazing how Kaiser-kun has no fear when you consider where he’s been.”

FlaWizarmon let out a mirthless chuckle. “Reckon after the Dark Ocean, there’s nothin’ left for him _to_ fear.”

A low hum rumbled in Witchmon’s throat. “I suppose…” Her gaze strayed to FlaWizarmon with the spark of hope she tried not to fan. “Do you think that maybe, if Kaiser-kun could escape, then Zennyu…?”

FlaWizarmon hesitated before he lowered his head. He had the same misgivings that Witchmon had, as the possibility of hope was painful yet something he was desperate for. “...I reckon if there’s a chance…” He then gave a small shake as he straightened up. “But if that’s the case, then we better fix the mess before he shows up, yeah?” He flashed his comrade a lopsided grin. “We wouldn’t want ‘im to come home to _this_ , now would we?”

Witchmon gave her partner a lazy smile in return, showing a few razor sharp teeth. “Of course not. He’d give us the mother of all lectures for slacking off on our duties.”

“So we better work twice as hard,” FlaWizarmon said, his grin widening. “And make sure Kaiser-kun’s weeeeell taken care of.”

“And Ken-chan too,” Witchmon added, sounding jovial in spite of the worry etched in the tension lines around her eyes.

“Ken-chan most of all,” FlaWizarmon agreed.

\---

The sound of Koshiro tapping away at his laptop echoed through the Yamagi living room as he brought up the screen he had seen the night before - the grid of the Digital World. It was very easy to see the large black blob that suddenly blocked out a large section of the map like a featureless sea of black.

“As you can see, it’s gotten a little bigger since last night,” Koshiro said. “Though its growth has slowed down considerably.”

“But even a little growth is still too much,” Yamato said as he tilted his head, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the screen.

“And you can’t see anything going on anywhere here?” Taichi asked, gesturing to the screen, only to see Koshiro shake his head in response.

“It kind of reminds me of the Battlefield Memorial before it was purged,” Takeru said, thoughtfully. “Just… overflowing Darkness obscuring everything.”

“So what’s this mean, Koshiro?” Taichi asked as he turned from the screen to his friend.

“I’m not completely sure, but it definitely doesn’t feel like a good thing,” Koshiro said as he switched to the scene from a Digital Gate. After adjusting the coordinates, only blackness appeared where there should have been a real time view of that location of the Digital World. “Like I said, whatever is going on there seems to have blacked out the Digital Gate from letting me see inside. I’ve been looking at the areas surrounding it, and strangely enough, a lot of Digimon are headed there.”

“ _That_ can’t be good.” Yamato said.

“Heading _to_ there? Not _away_ from there?” Takeru asked, with a blink.

Miyako cocked an eyebrow. “Well that’s new.”

“Did you see any Evil Rings on them?” Sora asked.

Koshiro shook his head. “Not as far as I could see. If they did have any, they weren’t obvious.”

“Ken isn’t tainted anymore,” Hikari said, sharp enough to startle the others. “So he can’t use Keiko’s or Ryo’s crests like before. He can’t create more Dark Towers, let alone Evil Rings.”

“Did _he_ tell you that?” Daisuke asked, though his voice was more like a low grumble than an actual question directed at the Chosen of Light.

“FlaWizarmon told us that,” YukimiBotamon said as she turned to glare at Daisuke. “When Ken wanted to use them to save Wormmon. In case you didn’t _notice_ , that _didn’t_ work out.”

Daisuke flinched and turned away, refusing to meet the small Digimon’s intense stare and instead focused on Chibimon as the dragon Digimon glowered back at her for him.

An awkward silence settled in as Hikari and Daisuke refused to look at each other while their partners glared daggers from across the room. The other Chosen Children shuffled uncomfortably as they glanced at each other, finding no immediate answer to help defuse the situation. Ultimately, there wasn’t much they _could_ do - except hope that Hikari and Daisuke could resolve the situation themselves sooner rather than later.

Koshiro cleared his throat awkwardly, his hands fidgeting in his lap. “R-right, so, uh…” He trailed off, looking to the others imploringly for help in redirecting the conversation.

“Back to the topic at hand,” Miyako said loudly, arms folded in front of her. “Ken is somehow involved with weirdness in the Digital World again.”

“S-so then, what’s going on?” Jou asked as he glanced around the room, as if someone else might have the answer.

“It would be impossible to know based off what we’ve seen,” Iori said with a grim expression, crossing his arms. “All we know is that _something_ is happening.”

“Well, then,” Yamato straightened up from leaning over Koshiro’s shoulder. “We don’t have many options left, do we? Should we check it out?”

“We’re not going to get anything done just standing around here,” Taichi said. “Let’s do it!”

A flurry of agreement came from the assembled Chosen Children, which was quickly followed by a Digital Gate being opened to the scene of the activity in the Digital World. Only those with infant Digimon stayed behind, along with Koshiro and Sora to provide support. The rest jumped straight in, ready to go.

While none of the children knew precisely what to expect, it most certainly _wasn’t_ what they came across when the light of the Digital Gate faded away - a monstrous medieval style fortress crawling with energetic, cheerful Digimon. As the Chosen appeared within the foyer of the fortress, they were surrounded on all sides by Digimon that scurried about, hard at work. Some fortifying structures and patching holes while others carried supplies, more still stood guard in sentry positions along the high wall that surrounded the building.

The sight of the human children appearing out of nowhere was more than a little startling for the Digimon, to say the very least.

“I-intruders!” a Gazimon cried out, pointing a claw downward at the group as they gawked about in confusion. “Intruders have breached the fortress!”

“Sound the alarm!” called out a bear-like Digimon in a blue cap with blue straps about his claws, not surprisingly named Bearmon. He waved his claws about as he stood high on the wall. “Alert the boss!”

Immediately, the other Digimon stopped their work and whirled to gawk at the “intruders”. Then, as realization of the situation hit them, the Digital Monsters quickly fled into the buildings proper, abandoning their work as they gave the Chosen a wide berth.

Taichi gawked at the Digimon as they fled in all directions. “The hell’s going on?”

“No clue,” Takeru said as he watched the Digimon flee, before his attention turned to the majestic purple banners that decorated the walls and towers. In particular, his eyes focused on the stylized tyrian purple symbol for gold that sat squarely in the middle of the banners of black. “Is that… Pride?”

“It definitely looks like it,” Jou said as he drew closer to the banner, leaning forward for a better look as he adjusted his glasses. “But why?”

“Koshiro _did_ mention something about of Pride and Darkness on the scanner,” Yamato said, thoughtfully. “It must be-”

“Ora-ora-ora-ora- _ora_!” a loud, guttural voice interrupted the Chosen Children’s musings, turning their attention to a humanoid lion Digimon as he stormed out in to the foyer from the main building. He looked like some sort of cyborg, as his body resembled a black cybernetic bodysuit with metal plating, though he had a strange black band around his upper arm with the crest of Pride in purple on proud display. Only his head appeared organic, with a long golden mane framing his yellow face. His upper legs and arms had spiraling turbines with ridges resembling a drill bit and, much like the tool, they began to spin rapidly with a mechanical whirring sound as GrapLeomon pointed at them. “The hell you bastards doing!? You think you can just waltz in to the Digimon Kaiser’s territory and not get your asses kicked!?”

“What?!” Taichi shouted, which was echoed by most of the Chosen Children. “The Digimon Kaiser’s empire is gone! We smashed every last Dark Tower ourselves!”

“No shit, there ain’t no towers!” GrapLeomon barked. “Don’t see any Dark Towers ‘round here, do ya!?” The lion Digimon clenched both his fists at the gawking boy. “Don’t _need_ no towers to have an empire! Not _this_ time!”

Daisuke let out a curse as he pointed at the band of black wrapped around GrapLeomon’s upper right arm. “Look! It’s an Evil Ring!”

GrapLeomon paused at that, baffled. “An Evil whut?” He paused again before he glanced to his arm. “Oh, ya mean my band?” He suddenly puffed up, looking far more proud than he had any right to, putting his hands on his hips. “Yer damn _right_ I got one! It was given to me _personally_ by the Digimon Kaiser _himself_ as a sign of my loyalty! It means that if you wanna cause trouble for the Digimon Kaiser, you gotta deal with _me_!”

“Oh no,” Mimi moaned, bringing her hands to her mouth. “It can’t be!”

“I _knew_ it!” Daisuke snarled as he clenched his fists. “I _knew_ it!”

“It’s got to be controlling him!” V-mon growled as he clenched his fists.

“Yeah,” Takeru agreed, noting the other Digimon that crowded behind the cybernetic Digimon, all of them watching the Chosen with varying degrees of anxiety mingled with hostility. “Look! They all have one.”

“Which means there _has_ to be a Dark Tower somewhere!” Yamato said as he clenched his fists. “Looks like it’s business as usual!”

Taichi raised his Digivice, his expression grim, yet determined. “Let’s do it!”

A unified shout of agreement came from the Chosen Digimon, and the light of evolution quickly overtook all as the combat-ready Digimon evolved to their Armor forms.

The Chosen Digimon attacked before the Digimon Kaiser’s forces had a chance to rally a defense, slicing off black bands with efficiency they had mastered from months of destroying Evil Rings without harming Digimon underneath. However, instead of shattering as expected, the bands tore away like ordinary strips of cloth.

“ _Hey_!” a Gazimon yelped in protest, gawking at his arm before whirling to shake his fist at the Chosen. “You _jerks_! What’d you do that for!?”

“You ruined it!” a Tsukaimon wailed. “My band’s _ruined_!”

As the armor evolution of Gomamon, Shawujinmon, came at GrapLeomon, he was promptly met with a growl and the Digimon’s fist to the face. However, even with the strike, the Kappa-like evolution was still able to slice off the cyborg’s band.

That only served to make GrapLeomon even _more_ angry. With a snarl, he snagged Shawujinmon by the leg and threw him across the courtyard. “You _bastards_ wanna fight, you got it! I’ll kick your _asses_ -”

GrapLeomon had no chance to finish his sentence before a white statue of a naked cherub with angel wings hit him solidly in the face, butt first. He crashed to the ground hard with an adorable puffy cheeked and very heavy child made of marble seated on his head.

Mimi stared while the cyborg recovered and flung the cherub off him with a furious shout, then turned to Daisuke. “Why do you have that Digimental again!?”

Daisuke could only shrug, somewhat sheepish in the face of the sour look Mimi shot his way. “Just sorta happened, I guess.”

Mimi puffed out her cheeks and stamped her foot in frustration. “Mouuu…”

GrapLeomon sputtered as he got to his feet, murderous rage clear on his organic face, as well as the bruise that was beginning to form on his snout. “You… you _bastards_ … think you can just show up… smash our shit… and throw naked butt statues at me!?” He puffed up, raising both of his fists so that the turbines in his arms spun violently. “ _Who you hell you think yer dealing with_!?”

“The Evil Rings are gone!” Gargomon said. “You-”

GrapLeomon responded by slamming his fist into Gargomon’s face, sending the white gargoyle Digimon flying backwards into the wall. He didn’t stop there, lunging after his fallen opponent in order to straddle Gargomon, giving him a good position to hail blows down on the pinned Chosen Digimon. “Take that, and that, and that, you _bastard_!”

“What the hell?!” Daisuke sputtered. “Why’re you attacking Gargomon? He just freed you!”

“Don’t just stand there!” GrapLeomon barked, even as he rained punches down on the pinned Gargomon. “ _Kick their asses_!”

GrapLeomon’s order seemed to snap the other Digimon out of their stupor, rallying the troops as they quickly gathered their courage and lunged at the Chosen Children.

“ _For Lord Kaiser_!” came a shout from above as several Gazimon flung themselves off the top of the ramparts onto a startled Allomon, a blue T-Rex digimon with red stripes that served as Agumon’s Courage-powered armor evolution. The small furry Digimon bit and clawed at the much larger opponent, the child Digimon banding together in an attempt to overtake him.

Meanwhile, several Sukamon with a crowd of Numemon quickly pulled their arms back before throwing pastel pink poop at Shutumon in her rainbow scarf, feces flying through the sky with deadly and disgusting precision.

Mimi shrieked at the sight of her partner getting splattered with poop and burned the offensive Digimon with a piercing glare. “Ew! That’s so gross! Stop it right now!”

Unfortunately, their response was to fling poop at Mimi, forcing the Chosen Child to dodge the foul smelling projectiles with a screech.

GrapLeomon was suddenly rammed in the side by a golden-colored canine with a long fluffy tail and spiked mane, who was Patamon’s Friendship-driven armor evolution. Siesamon’s horn clanging noisily against the metal bodysuit as it failed to puncture the Perfect. The impact was still enough to send the lion Digimon off his pinned opponent, and to the ground.

“Are you alright, Gargomon?” the final armor evolution, a long-necked purple dragon man evolution with a bulky red chestplate and black leather chaps, asked as he rushed to crouch in front of Siesamon and the downed Digimon. It was Arresterdramon, Gabumon’s evolution, and his long tail whipped about the spade-like tip in a threat as he brought up his orange-gloved claws defensively.

“I-I’m fine,” Gargomon said as he got up, his face somewhat bruised and battered. “But talk about _gratitude_!”

“ _Gratitude_? I’ll give ya _gratitude_!” GrapLeomon growled as he got to his feet and lifted his own fists in a threat. “I’ll _gratitude_ ya right in the _face_!” He lunged forward, swinging at Arresterdramon, who swiftly blocked the first with his forearms.

GrapLeomon retaliated by bringing about his other arm to side-swipe the dragon’s face with his spinning forearms, and the sound of metal hitting scales shrieked through the air at the same time as Arresterdramon’s own cry.

“Arrest-!” Siesamon began before GrapLeomon swiftly kicked him, giving him a taste of what his comrade had felt, right in his side. He yowled as he went rolling, hitting the ground roughly.

“Siesamon!” Takeru cried out, rushing to his partner’s side.

“W-why… why are they still hostile!?” Jou demanded, sweating anxiously. “The Evil Rings are gone! So why-!?”

“Hey!” Daisuke shouted at the attacking Digimon. “Knock it off! Don’t you know we’re trying to save you from the Digimon Kaiser!?”

Unfortunately for Daisuke, all he got for his efforts was a piece of poop flung at his face. Though he brought his arms up in nick of time, the pink reeking goo simply splattered all over him.

“Forget the Digimon!” GrapLeomon shouted as he threw his claw about to point at the Chosen Children. “ _Poop the humans_!”

The Sukamon and Numemon quickly turned their attention to the rest of the gawking children, who had little time to process what was happening before they too became the targets of Digital Monster bowel movements. Chaos reigned as the humans panicked, scrambling about to avoid the projectiles without much success. Even with the Digimon doing their best to protect their partners, the fecal matter was getting everywhere and on everything.

It was far too much for Mimi.

“I can’t… I _can’t_!” Mimi shrieked, shaking her fists with helpless horror as the disgusting projectiles splattered everywhere around - _and on_ \- her. She whipped out her Digivice, tears in her eyes. “ _Digital Gate open_!”

A bright flash of light answered Mimi before she lunged into the gate, with Shutumon following after her partner. The other Chosen were quick to follow, abandoning course as they fled into the gate and _away_ from the poop-flinging Digimon.

The trip back was rough, with the humans being thrown across the living room floor - and with them, piles of feces that had been thrown into the gate. As Digimon de-evolved in to their filth-smeared child forms, the human Chosen gingerly sat up and surveyed the damage.

Sora covered her mouth and nose with her hand, horror clear on her face. “Oh my god…”

“ _Yuck_!” Pafumon said as she wrinkled her nose. “You all smell _awful_!”

“F-feces tends to stink.” Iori said as he lifted his shirt to cover his nose and mouth.

YukimiBotamon stared at the Chosen on the floor, with piles of excrement surrounding them, before she looked up at Hikari. “Your mother’s going to have a _fit_.”

Hikari pinched her nose shut, her eyes watering, as she gave a small nod.

Mimi let out a whine as she clenched her fists, then stood up. “I’m _done_! I’m done, I’m done, I’m done! I’m going home to take a _shower_!” She whirled to her partner. “Let’s go, Palmon!”

Palmon grimaced as she gingerly looked at her rainbow scarf, tears beading at the corners of her eyes. “I-it’s even on Kyoumon’s scarf…!”

Sora watched as Mimi quickly gated back out with Palmon, no doubt intending to do her gate hopping to get home, before she turned to the others. “I… think you _all_ need to take a shower. Right now. I-immediately.”

“I a-agree,” Koshiro said, holding his own hand over his nose and mouth. “We can discuss what happened a-after you’ve cleaned off the… after you’ve cleaned up.”

Hikari watched as the Chosen Children quickly agreed and scattered, with Taichi and Agumon racing for the bathroom while the others hurried to the front door so that they could return home. With the bulk of the mess gone, she turned to help Sora, Iori, Miyako, and Koshiro as they tried to clean up what remained as best they could before her parents got home.

After all, it was the least the five could do, given they didn’t face the brunt of the horror.

As she cleaned, Hikari couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander to what had happened, and feel an overwhelming sense of discontent. The fact that the Digimon had mentioned the Digimon Kaiser at all was very concerning, but the black bands and the numerous banners didn’t help matters in the slightest.

It couldn’t have been Ken. Even if he seemed like the obvious answer, it didn’t explain the Crest of Pride or the black bands made of fabric. But more than anything, it was the lack of Dark Towers and Evil Rings that convinced her that Ken couldn’t have been involved.

Ken was too terrified to trust any Digimon but three with their free will.

“There’s no way,” Hikari murmured.

“I agree,” YukimiBotamon said as she looked up at her partner from the floor. “Everyone’s very quick to blame Ken again, but we know better.”

Hikari gave a small nod, her expression pained.

“We _saw_ the taint being burned out of him,” YukimiBotamon said. “Whatever’s happening, Ken _can’t_ be involved.”

“But if it’s not him, then who?” Hikari asked, turning to her partner. “They even used the Digimon Kaiser’s name…”

“That actually doesn’t mean much,” YukimiBotamon said. At Hikari’s incredulous stare, she shook her head. “No, hear me out. I’m not saying this based off of blind faith - I’m saying this based off of _experience_.”

“Experience?” Hikari repeated, blinking.

“When I worked for Vamdemon,” YukimiBotamon said. When Hikari’s expression grew troubled, the she looked away and stared up at the ceiling. “Vamdemon’s reputation spanned the Digital World, where even mere whispers of his name would send everyone in to a panic. Most of the time, simply invoking his name was enough to get other Digimon to grovel for their lives before you. They’d have no idea if you were lying or not, but definitely didn’t want to take that chance. And someone using Vamdemon’s name without his permission was the one putting themselves in the most risk, if he ever found out.”

“So, you’re saying… someone could be using Ken’s name like that,” Hikari murmured. “Using his reputation to take over his empire and claim it for themselves.”

“The Digimon Kaiser has a bigger reputation than Vamdemon ever had, so it’d be only natural that someone feeling particularly _opportunistic_ might see it as a chance to cash in,” YukimiBotamon said gravely. “And they might think there’s a low risk of Ken - of the Digimon Kaiser - punishing them for it as he hasn’t been around for weeks. And by the time he _did_ find out, they’d be in a good enough to defend themselves.” She then gave Hikari a crooked grin. “Which is a moot point anyway, as I sincerely doubt Ken would want _anything_ to do with that moniker ever again.”

“Right,” Hikari said as she nodded. She was quiet for a moment as she shoved the soiled paper towels she had been using on the floor into a trash bag. “So it’s actually… really possible that it’s not Ken. There’s an actual explanation…”

“Of course,” YukimiBotamon said, brightly. “Don’t go doubting yourself now, over something like this. Until we _actually_ see Ken, there’s no proof.”

“Right,” Hikari said softly, “You’re absolutely right.”

YukimiBotamon wiggled her ears as she stared up at her partner, then hummed thoughtfully. “Unfortunately, we don’t know who they are, or what they want. But if they’re trying to revive the Digimon Kaiser’s empire…”

“We’ll stop them,” Hikari said, firmly. She then turned to her partner. “But first, we need to find Ken.”

“Right,” YukimiBotamon said, flicking her ears. “He’s our priority.”

Hikari nodded, her mouth drawn in a grim line. She had failed to save Ken once; she wouldn’t fail again.

\---

The Digimon Kaiser sat in his newly christened throne, watching the screens as lines of data and information poured across them. At his feet, Dracomon stretched out like a cat, eyes closed. However, the seemingly relaxed appearance was not a sign of an equally relaxed guard, as Dracomon’s eyes immediately snapped open as he turned to stare at the closed doorway, watching and waiting until it suddenly opened and FlaWizarmon entered the room.

“Yo, Kaiser-kun,” FlaWizarmon said as he gave a salute with his pointer and index finger against his brow before flicking them forward. “Looks like the Chosen got wind of our rebuilding efforts, and got into a little _scuffle_ at one of the bases.” He crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. “They tore up your pretty new bands like Christmas paper, but got alotta _shit_ for their efforts.”

Witchmon drifted in alongside FlaWizarmon, riding her broom. She lifted one of her large hands to her mouth as she let out a giggle, grinning mischievously. “Literally~!”

The Digimon Kaiser didn’t so much as glance at the pair, entirely focused on scouring the data before him. His expression remained unchanged, neither pleased nor irritated at the news. “Do whatever you like to keep them out of the way. We’ve got more important things to worry about than idiots bumbling around blindly into things they don’t understand.”

FlaWizarmon’s grin widened as he turned to meet Witchmon’s gaze, then back to the Digimon Kaiser. “You got it, Kaiser-kun.”

“Our pleasure, dearie,” Witchmon said, giggling again.

The Digimon Kaiser didn’t acknowledge the pair as they left, his eyes never leaving the screen. He continued on in silence, combing over the data as Dracomon settled down again, closing his eyes.

\---

The fires of Zhuqiaomon’s lair smoldered, much like the anger that coursed through the Holy Beast’s veins. To his credit, or perhaps his arrogance, Neemon seemed unperturbed even as the flaming sparrow Digimon’s own minions cowered in shadows, not daring to approach as brazenly as the noodly Digimon did to their master’s throne.

Zhuqiaomon fixed his four eyes on Neemon, each one blazing like the fires around him. “I sent you four to eliminate that brat for good, and instead you - and he - return to this world and my Devas do not.”

“It’s a tragic part of this job,” Neemon gave far too casual of a shrug. “Sometimes your minions don’t come back and rescue won’t come for them.” He flashed a smile that was all teeth. “Seems Miracles never cease when it comes to those brats.”

Zhuqiaomon’s eyes narrowed as the fire that made up his body bristled like feathers. “Is that so.”

“Sad truth is that only one of your minions ever took any of them down,” Neemon said while picking his nose. “And that was after years of waiting for the right opportunity for their luck to run out. It’s going to take time to get the rest of the set.”

Zhuqiaomon was silent for several moments as he continued to smolder. Then, finally, his feathers appeared to sooth down. “Then it is time for us to make our own Miracles. I trust that, at the very least, you did not lose _that_ crest?”

Neemon rubbed his fingers together before flicking away what was on them. “ _I_ never lost anything. Your Devas couldn’t hold onto the two I gave them.” Reaching into his pants, he pulled out the Crest of Miracles and idly twirled it around his finger. “Unlike them, I’m a professional.”

Zhuqiaomon’s eyes narrowed again before relaxing, as did the rest of his demeanor. “As you say.”

The rest of the Holy Beast’s servants visibly relaxed as well, more out of relief at their master’s improved mood.

Neemon barely opened a slit of an eye. “Don’t worry about Kindness getting away, boss. I’m not going to let him live after I’m done having my fun with him.” He closed his eye and smiled in an almost serene manner. “Killing Chosen Children is what I do best after all~!”

“I expect you to pay him back a hundredfold for everything he has done,” Zhuqiaomon said, his tone like a rattlesnake’s tail. “To the Digital World, and to _me_.”

Neemon let out a chuckle as he pat his scarred stomach. “You don’t need to tell _me_ that.”


	3. Chapter 3

To say that the Chosen were unhappy with how their first contact with the Digimon Kaiser’s new army went would have been an understatement. In a space saturated with the smell of industrial cleaner, the atmosphere permeating the Yamagi living room was both grouchy and awkward. Each emotion came from one of two respective groups - those that had gotten pooped and those that had not.

Worse still, there was a sense that the assembled Chosen Children wanted to talk about what happened as strongly as they _didn’t_ want to even think of such a disgusting incident. It once again split straight down the lines between those that had experienced the fecal horror and those that had not. In the end, it left the Chosen just stewing in silence, staring at each other.

Miyako was the first to crack from the tension. Slapping her hands against her knees, she rose from her chair and threw her arms out. “Okay, we have _got_ to talk about what happened yesterday!”

“No!” Mimi blurted out instantly, arms folded against her chest as she shrank into the sofa. “We’re not talking about that ever again! Do you know how many hours Palmon and I spent in the bath last night?”

“Even when it was gone, it still felt like I was covered in it,” Palmon muttered, sagging her body as she sat on the floor by Mimi.

“We took another shower before we came here today!” Mimi added with a huff as she rubbed her arms. She could still feel the gross glop clinging to her skin, even though she had scrubbed herself raw “Mama had to take a hose to our clothes then send them to a dry cleaner that deals with _dirty diapers_!”

“Yes, well,” Iori began, slowly. “Something important happened that does need to be discussed. Not the… rest of it, of course. But we can’t ignore the fact that the Digimon rather willingly… resisted. Of their own accord and… ah, in their own ways.”

“By flinging shit at us,” Daisuke intoned, his expression deadpanned. “Literally.”

“Lots of shit.” Chibimon growled, his ears canted back. “Lots and lots of shit.”

Mimi clamped her hands over her ears. “Noooo! Stop saying that! You’re making me feel gross all over again!”

“At least you didn’t have to help clean up the whole apartment after _your_ bath,” Taichi muttered out of the side of his mouth. His fingers still itched from all the soap and cleaner.

Hikari shot Taichi an apologetic look, feeling a pang of guilt that she knew was irrational. Still, that did nothing to stop her from feeling bad that she and the others had been unable to finish cleaning by the time Taichi and Agumon tromped out of the bath soaking and grouchy just in time for their parents to get home.

Their parents’ reaction was almost as ugly as the poo explosion all over the living room.

“I don’t know if Takeru and I can ever show our faces at that public bath again,” Yamato said as he sagged his arms over the edge of the chair he was sitting in, straddling it so that his arms draped over the back.

Takeru let out an awkward laugh as he glanced at his brother. “A-at least not for a while.”

“Same here,” Daisuke grunted. “And the laundromat.” His voice dropped down to an almost unintelligible grumble. “And Jun _still_ caught a whiff of it when we got home and railed on me for it.”

Chibimon’s tail gave a loud smack against the floor, his face twisting in to something rather ugly for such a cute baby face.

Sora naturally felt sympathetic, and she couldn’t deny the fact that she had been _relieved_ that she had avoided the others’ fate - which in turn added guilt on top of everything else. “Y-yes, that’s true… but they did it without being controlled.”

“Which means no Dark Towers or Evil Rings,” Miyako added.

“In other words,” YukimiBotamon said. “Things are _different_.”

“Yeah,” Daisuke said snidely. “The Digimon Kaiser got Digimon to work with him without brainwashing them this time. He probably lied about being their friend too.”

Hikari twitched, her blazing eyes darting to meet Daisuke’s despite her better judgement. “Ken wasn’t pretending to be our friend!”

“Why the hell do you think he approached us in the first place?” Daisuke snapped, though he cringed back a moment later when he realized he had yelled at Hikari. A twist of his gut forced his gaze away, but he refused to back down. “Can you really tell me that the only reason he bothered to talk to me… us. Us, in the first place was because he _wasn’t_ planning on using us? That he wasn’t trying to spy on us and trick us and screw around with us like all that time in the Digital World even after he supposedly started helping us and-”

“Okay!” Miyako practically shouted as she clapped her hands together loudly. Once she caught the others’ attention she lowered the volume of her voice, but only slightly. “Lemmie stop you right there, Daisuke. None of us are in the mood to listen to another ‘Ken is evil and deserves all my punches’ rant.”

Daisuke bristled and folded his arms tight against his chest as he glared down at the carpet.

“Not to say that you don’t have a point,” Miyako added, ignoring the look Hikari shot her way. “Ken probably did plan to use us when he started sucking up to you - _at first_ \- but you’ve got to remember he was screwed up by years of Dark Ocean taint and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and wasn’t in his right mind.”

“And he _became_ our friend anyway in spite of all that!” Hikari added a little more harshly than she intended.

“My point is…,” Miyako continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. “Ken screwed up. We all know he screwed up and none of us are happy about it. That doesn’t mean we should stop caring about him. It’s not like you want something bad to happen to him, right?” She paused, scrunching her nose up a bit. “Well, again, I mean.”

Daisuke flinched, his fingers digging into his elbows as a slight tremor ran through his body. Not trusting himself to speak, he merely shook his head.

Taichi left his seat by Sora at the table to lean over the back of the sofa and squeeze Daisuke’s shoulder, startling the younger goggle boy into looking up at him. “Hey, I get it. Sometimes friends piss you off and you can’t stop from wanting to beat the crap outta them.” He cocked his head in Yamato’s direction and gave his friend a wan smile. “And sometimes fights make you do dumb things and drive your friends off on their own for a while, and you’re both gonna stew for a while after that. It happens.”

Yamato returned the smile with one of his own. “Yeah. But eventually, you both deal with it and come out the better for it. And take that from someone who had his own crippling doubts to fight with.”

Sora glanced over at Taichi and Yamato before she looked down at her hands, watching as she laced her fingers together and gripped them tightly.

Mimi nodded, brow furrowing a bit with discomfort. “That’s right. We all split apart from the others sometimes back when we first started out when we were… not getting along.”

It was comforting, Daisuke had to admit, that no one was yelling at him for his grudge against Ken, but it also made him feel increasingly guilty. The other Chosen Children were so much more mature, so much more forgiving than he was. He felt small and petty because, for everything they said, he still couldn’t untangle the knot of anger and complicated feelings he had for Ken.

However, before the conversation could continue any further, a loud beep echoed through the room as all the Chosen Children received an email message simultaneously. The tone was unfamiliar, immediately ruling out the usual suspects, which left the assembled children staring at each other blankly before going to their DT2s to see what had been sent.

The sender’s email address was a garbled mess of incoherent characters, but the message itself was perfectly clear.

_Help! The bad Digimon are attacking our fields! Please help us!_

“Who… sent this?” Takeru asked slowly as he stared at his screen. At least for all the other emails, a name was given - Centarumon, Jijimon, Narakumon - if not a proper address. The only one who sent emails without one was Keiko, but there was no way this message was from her.

“It doesn’t matter!” Taichi said, a little relieved by the distraction from such a heavy topic. “Someone’s in trouble! It has to be the Digimon Kaiser’s army!”

“Or someone else,” Hikari added, shooting her brother a glare.

Taichi blinked, startled by such a harsh expression on his little sister’s face, but recovered quickly to flash Hikari a sheepish smile. “Or someone else, yeah. Either way, someone needs our help!”

“Well, only one way to find out,” Yamato said as he lifted his Digivice.

There was considerably more reluctance to gate into the Digital World this time, but in the end, they all dutifully summoned their courage and arrived at the coordinates given in the email, ready for whatever might be thrown their way.

Upon arriving, the Chosen Children were greeted by orderly rows of cultivated plants - fields for farming. However, the crops they found were not waves of grain, corn, tomatoes, or any other typical crop they might find back in the real world. Instead, what blossomed was _meat_ \- tons and tons of _meat_. Even more baffling, they were large chunks of meat attached to a bone of some kind - a bone that was growing out of the ground, lined up in hundreds of neat little rows.

Yamato stared at their surroundings, his expression blank as his eyes drifted across the fields before him. Despite all the weirdness the Digital World had thrown at them over the years, he still found himself absolutely befuddled. “What.”

Takeru stood by his brother, his expression similar to Yamato’s, but it quickly evaporated into something not unlike defeat. “Yeah, okay. Why not.”

“Well, that’s certainly a sight that would blow a vegetarian’s mind,” Pafumon said as she flickered her ears while sitting on Miyako’s head, looking at the screen through Koshiro’s laptop. “You think it comes pre-seasoned or do you have to do that yourself?”

Miyako let out a hum as she stroked her chin. “Maybe they need to do selective breeding to yield different flavors.”

Iori felt a bead of sweat trickle down his cheek. “This is… not very logical.”

Koshiro let out an awkward laugh as he glanced at the others.“It’s… the Digital World. That’s all you can really say.”

“So these are the, ah... ‘fields’ that are under attack?” Sora asked, placing her curled left hand against her chest as she glanced about at the rest of the group with her in the Digital World. “Everything seems so peaceful.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said as he scanned the area. “That’s pretty weird. You see anything, Agumon?”

Agumon shook his head, his eyes straying to the crops as he started to salivate. “Nope, nothing except some tasty looking meat.”

“Maybe it’s somewhere further along, deeper in the fields?” Jou asked. “Should we split up-”

“ _Hey_!” a small voice barked, causing the Chosen Children to jump and turn towards the source. It was revealed to be a little green turtle in a blue soldier hat known as Kamemon, who glared at the group with his hands on his shell-covered hips. Right away, the humans saw the Digimon Kaiser’s band proudly displayed on his left arm. “What are you doing here!? You’re trespassing on Digimon Kaiser property!”

“The Digimon Kaiser!?” V-mon repeated before he clenched his fists. “He’s causing trouble here too!?”

“I knew it!” Daisuke shouted before pointing at the banded Digimon. “Hold it right there! We’re not going to let you get away with attacking innocent Digimon and stealing their their food!”

“If anyone’s causing trouble, it’s _you_!” An Alraumon, snapped who looked like a spitting image of Palmon except for her darker green skin and purple pedals. She pointed her tendriled fingers at the group. “No one invited you and you’re just waltzing around _our_ fields? You’re so suspicious!”

“I bet _you’re_ the ones trying to steal _our_ food!” Kamemon said as he clenched his fists.

“That’s _our_ line!” V-mon said as he shook his fist at the child Digimon. “You can’t just take someone else’s fields and say they’re yours!”

“And _you_ can’t just show up and say they’re not our fields!” Alraumon snapped as she flapped her arms in a small tantrum. “No matter how you look at it, you’re being a troublemaker!”

“Says the troublemaker!” V-mon shot back.

“Says the _double trouble_ maker!” Kamemon retorted before he pulled down his eyelid to stick his tongue at the small dragon Digimon.

“This isn’t going particularly well,” Gabumon said as he watched the exchange with a worried stare.

“No, it’s not,” Yamato agreed as he crossed his arms.

Taichi scratched his head. “Oh boy…”

“You said it,” Agumon said while imitating his partner.

“What should we do?” Sora asked as she glanced at the others. “I don’t see anyone besides them…”

“What if they really are their fields?” Piyomon asked as she tilted her head, looking at her partner.

“W-well, obviously they took the fields from _someone._ We got that distress email, after all,” Jou said with a nod, placing his hands on his hips. “And they’re in Ken’s - the Digimon Kaiser’s army, so it wouldn’t have been through friendly negotiation.”

“You got that right,” Gomamon said. “About as friendly as a fist to the face, I’d say.”

“So, what?” Taichi asked as he watched the Child Digimon wearing the Kaiser’s bands squabble with V-mon. “Smack ‘em down and take it back?”

“Of course!” Daisuke shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

“It’s really weird, but we can’t let them do whatever they want,” Agumon said with a nod. “Especially when they’re hurting other people.”

Takeru frowned. He couldn’t deny that his friends had a point, but something about the situation didn’t feel right. “Patamon, can you take a look-”

“ _Oooooooooooooooraaaaaaaaaaaaa_! The hell’s goin’ on over here!?”

All the Chosen Children and their Digimon jumped again and turned in time to see the new loud arrival, the sight of whom made all their stomachs sink - it was GrapLeomon. He was surrounded by a throng of Child Digimon of all shapes and sizes, who ushered him onwards towards the site of the confrontation, like children tattling to their teacher.

“Someone darin’ to cause trouble in the Digimon Kaiser’s lands is just _askin’_ for-” GrapLeomon growled as he stomped over, then froze. He stared at the Chosen, his eyebrows shooting straight up, before rage quickly consumed his features. “ _You bastards again!?_ ”

Taichi cringed, remembering all too clearly what happened last time they crossed paths with GrapLeomon. “Crap!”

“Is that the same GrapLeomon!?” Jou yelped as he jerked back, his glasses sliding down his nose. “What’s he doing _here_!?”

“I’m in charge of this whole damn area!” GrapLeomon growled as he lowered his head while raising his fists, taking a battle stance. “I thought we taught your asses good, but I guess you need another _shitty time_ for the lesson to really _sink in_!”

“ _No_!” Mimi screamed, horror ripping into righteous anger at the thought of another assault of fecal matter. “Not again! _Never again!_ ” She raised her Digivice with murder in her eyes. “Get him, Palmon!”

Palmon crouched as she glared at GrapLeomon before she began to glow. Within seconds, she was replaced by Rosemon, her rainbow cape fluttering behind her. She pulled her vine whip tight between her hands. “Bad boys will be _punished_.”

“Go ahead and try it, Miss Venus-Booby-Trap!” GrapLeomon said with a growl as he clenched his fists, causing the threads lining his upper arms to spin violently. “You come snoopin’, you get a whoopin’!”

A loud cheer erupted from GrapLeomon’s subordinates even as the other Chosen gawked in shock at the sudden explosion of violence. The throngs of Kaiser-led Digimon continued to cheer as GrapLeomon lunged at Rosemon, who in turn met his attack with a swift kick to his stomach. It was enough to make the cyborg Digimon miss her with his whirling fists as she launched herself backwards with a smooth flip.

“Kick her ass!” Kamemon shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to help his voice carry. “You can do it, Boss!”

“T-things have escalated quickly!” Jou stammered as he glanced around wildly, then turned to the others. “W-what should we do!?”

“There’s no way GrapLeomon’ll stand a chance against Rosemon,” Taichi remarked as he watched the fight, taking in how Rosemon practically danced around her opponent. “So this is gonna be over with quickly.”

A chime caught Taichi’s attention, driving him to open up his D-Terminal. Seeing Miyako’s face on the screen caused him to jerk back before he remembered about the new functions the DT2s had that the original versions lacked.

“You might want to remind Mimi that the Village of Beginnings is broken,” Miyako said flatly. “So going around killing Digimon might not be a good idea right now.”

“What?!” Mimi practically shrieked as she whirled around in Taichi’s direction with wide eyes. Before the Chosen of Courage could react, she snatched the D-Terminal out of his hands. “No one’s killing anyone!” she shouted into the screen as she pointed wildly in the direction of GrapLeomon. “Rosemon is just teaching that jerk a lesson about throwing _poop_ on people!”

Miyako’s mouth twisted slightly. “You sure Rosemon knows that?”

“Of course!” Mimi huffed, putting one hand on her hip. “Rosemon knows better than anyone that killing is wrong!”

Miyako readjusted her glasses. “Well, yeah, but-”

“We’re not killing anyone if we don’t have to!” Mimi snapped, cutting the younger girl off. “No matter how gross they are.” With that she shoved the D-Terminal back into Taichi’s hand and stomped a few steps away to fume before she started venting her anger on Miyako.

Taichi hesitated for a moment before looking down on the screen. “Yeah, uh… I’m kind of with Mimi on this one. These Digimon have been annoying, but we haven’t actually seen them hurting anyone…”

Miyako held her hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright. Forget I ever said anything.”

“That reminds me,” Yamato said, glancing over Taichi’s shoulder in time to see the call end. “Where’s the Digimon that sent that email?”

Taichi brought the email up on his D-Terminal, frowning. “This is the place it said to meet, but it doesn’t say who it’s from. Maybe they’re hiding from the Digimon Kaiser army?”

“If they weren’t already deleted,” Yamato muttered.

Taichi grimaced, feeling sick to his stomach at the idea. Digimon dissolved completely when they were killed, which meant there was no evidence, not even a stain left behind. It was a valid point, he had to admit, but even still…

“I dunno,” Taichi finally said. “Something doesn’t feel right about fighting these guys.” He gestured to the banded Digimon. “I mean, yeah, they threw crap at us, but they didn’t actually try to hurt any of us. And if they’re not being brainwashed, and we don’t _really_ know they’re actually hurting any other Digimon, then-”

“Dum Dum Upper!”

A blur of black and brown streaked between the combatants and the butt end of a gatling gun slammed into GrapLeomon’s jaw, sending the cyborg lion flying away from a startled Rosemon. The new Digimon resembled a large, bulky anthropomorphic dog, a terrier to be exact, wearing baggy pale green jeans and having two gatling guns for forearms. He was black with tan ear tips, stomach, muzzle, feet, and upper arms. He had red stripes on his cheeks that matched the red diamond on his forehead, and his delighted red eyes focused on GrapLeomon with sharp intensity.

With wide ears spread, the Black Galgomon laughed and unleashed a hailfire of bullets from his arm. “Gatling Arm!”

“What the!?” Mimi yelped as she stared at the newcomer that fired upon the Digimon Kaiser’s Digimon with reckless abandon.

GrapLeomon grunted as he brought up his arms to shield his face from the surprise attack, bullets ricocheting off of metal. He glanced back out of the corner of his eyes at the stunned child Digimon serving under him. “Take cover! These bastards are out to _kill_!”

Their leader’s words startled the Digimon, who quickly fled in a blind panic to hide behind whatever they could - with the only thing available being the rows of meat, which splattered their delicious juices whenever a bullet hit one.

With the weaker Digimon now taking cover, GrapLeomon returned his attention to the cackling Black Galgomon, and the stunned Rosemon behind him. “So _this_ is the power of the Chosen Children, eh!? Thinking you can just kill whoever you want, ‘cuz yer special!? At least be honest about it like the Digimon Kaiser, and not try an’ pretend yer better than the rest of us!”

“Who the heck is that?” Taichi shouted, half raising his Digivice in preparation for a fight.

As the Chosen Children scrambled, Black Galgomon focused exclusively on his opponent. Shooting an unending barrage of bullets, he lunged forward towards GrapLeomon before attempting to plant one of his gatling guns directly in the cyborg lion’s face. GrapLeomon jerked back, narrowly avoiding a chin full of lead as he slammed his foot in to his opponent’s pudgy stomach, sending him flying backwards.

Black Galgomon stopped shooting as he flipped through the air, but landed easily enough on his feet despite the force of the blow. He gave the gear mechanisms of his arms a quick whirl before aiming them at GrapLeomon again, a smirk on his face.

“[You have quite the nerve, causing so much trouble for these innocent people… but to attack a beautiful lady? That is truly unforgivable!]”

The sound of English startled the Chosen Children, most of whom couldn’t fully understand the words, their expressions blank. Those that did, however, were far more focused on something else - how familiar the voice was.

“Wait… that voice…” Takeru murmured, his eyes widening. “That… can’t be…”

GrapLeomon righted himself as he crouched, warily watching Black Galgomon. “Who’s spoutin’ that gibberish? Show yourself, an’ I’ll give ya something to yammer about!”

With a grand flourish, a boy about their age with fluffy blonde hair and blue eyes stepped out from his hiding place behind an almost comically large hunk of meat, his arms crossed and a confident smile on his face. He wore what appeared to be a pale purple jersey over a white long-sleeve shirt, with dusty gray pants and pale purple sneakers with gray laces and soles.

“[We’ll teach you a lesson about being a gentleman,]” the boy said. “[One you won’t soon forget.]”

Mimi gasped, shocked by the newcomer’s entrance. “Wallace!? [What’re you doing here?]”

Wallace turned to flash Mimi a smile. “[My dear, isn’t it obvious~?] I am here to rescue you!”

“From what?” Rosemon asked, with a blink that was felt rather than seen due to the veil of petals covering her eyes.

Wallace misstepped and nearly fell over at that flat question, even as he attempted to keep his smile on his face. “F-from this terrible beast, of course.”

Rosemon stared at Wallace before turning to GrapLeomon, who crouched defensively in anticipation of a new attack as he glared at them with hate-filled eyes. She then turned back to Wallace and Black Galgomon. “I didn’t need your help.”

“Nevermind that!” Taichi shouted as he ran over to Wallace and grabbed the blond by the wrist. “Do you know what this means?” He glanced around at the others as excitement bubbled over in a display of wild gestures towards Wallace. “We found the last Chosen Child!”

Wallace blinked before his smile returned in full force. However, no sooner did he open his mouth to respond when a sharp litany of voices pierced the air.

“ _Surprise attaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack_!”

The Chosen Children jerked and looked up just in time to see a hailstorm of meat raining down on them. Meat of all shapes and sizes were hurled through the air by the Child Digimon, with them plucking up more from the very fields they were so possessive of to fling it at their enemies. Tender meat splattered against the humans, with a spray of juices and a hint of barbecue sauce.

“Get away from the boss, you jerks!” Kamemon shouted.

“Awful, awful!” Alraumon agreed as she twirled two sirloins in either hand before flinging them right at Rosemon and Mimi, the former immediately shielding the latter. “You’re simply _rotten_!”

“I-it ain’t a surprise attack if ya announce it!” GrapLeomon barked at the others before he hesitated. His expression grew tender for a moment as he regarded his troops before growing serious once again. “Alright, ya bastards! Fall back, quick! I’m soundin’ a retreat!”

“W-what… what-” Jou stammered as stumbled about, then yowled when a chunk of meat hit him solidly in the face, knocking off his glasses as he fell backwards onto the ground.

“Sora, get down!” Piyomon shouted before she quickly evolved to Birdramon, surging forward to form a barrier over her partner. She fanned her wings before sending a burst of flaming fireballs outward to knock away the attacking meat. “Meteor Wing!”

Sora crouched as she shielded her head with her arms, her eyes shut as she braced herself. When a piece of sizzling meat fell down beside her, she opened an eye before snapping both open to stare at it. “It’s… it’s cooked?! You cooked it!?”

Chaos reigned for several moments more, as meat continued to rain down on the Chosen Children and their Digimon, though the downpour lessened as each of the Kaiser’s forces fled until the last lingering holdouts took the opportunity to retreat. In the end, the Chosen were left alone in the field, surrounded and covered by meat.

Takeru grimaced as he wiped the meat juice off his face, though it did little more than smear along his cheek, before picking a pork chop off his shoulder. “I can’t tell if this is better or worse than being pelted with poop…”

“Better,” Daisuke grumbled as he wiped his saucy hands on his shirt. “Definitely better. _In - fin - ite - ly_ better.”

“Still sucks, though,” V-mon grunted as he sagged his shoulders. He then blinked as his nose caught a sweet scent of barbeque and he turned to stare at his arm, sniffing at the sauce that covered it before tentatively giving it a lick.

Jou sat up groggily as Gomamon picked the pieces of delicious projectiles off him before scarfing down the moist morsels. He plucked his glasses off his face not just to clean off the smears of sauce, but to check if they were damaged - to his relief, they were. “That… that could’ve gone better.”

“But we won, right?” Gomamon asked rhetorically. He ate another sampling of meat. “The sweet taste of victory… and smoked brisket.”

Wallace wiped at his face with the back of his hand, then made to clean his hand on his shirt only to see that it was already splattered with various sauces. He blinked before chuckling wryly as he glanced towards Black Galgomon. “[Well, that was… interesting.]”

Black Galgomon gave a shug before he suddenly de-evolved, turning in to a much smaller anthropomorphic terrier Digimon with the same color scheme, minus the cybernetics and clothing. He hopped up to land on Wallace’s shoulder, fanning his large ears. “[A victory is still a victory, right, Wallace?]”

Wallace flashed Black Terriermon a smile. “[That’s right, Noir. It’s like my dad says… it’s important to accept that not everything will follow the script, and you’ll just have to improvise. That’s when you really get your chance to shine.]”

“[Or get covered in meat,]” Noir said before he giggled and stuck his tongue out.

Wallace laughed. “[I’ll admit, this is definitely not something I ever thought I’d experience today, or ever.]”

Mimi rushed over to Wallace’s side, narrowing her eyes at him as she let out a quiet huff. Palmon quickly hurried after her, having de-evolved from Rosemon moments prior. “[Wallace! Just _when_ were you planning on telling me you were a Chosen Child, too?!]”

Wallace blinked as he turned his attention to Mimi before he gave her a sly wink. “[When the time was right, of course~!]”

Mimi scowled while setting her hands on her hips, a rumble of displeasure escaping her as she shot Wallace a look that was full of daggers.

Wallace laughed before he raised his hands defensively. “[Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself. To be honest, Noir’s egg only hatched recently. I wasn’t sure about anything until that moment, so there wasn’t anything to say.]”

Palmon blinked. “Noir?”

Wallace tilted his head towards Black Galgomon, an easygoing smile on his face. “[That’s my partner’s name - Noir.]”

“[Wallace gave me a name!]” Noir replied before he gave Palmon a mischievous grin. “[Jealous~?]”

Palmon blinked before she pursed her lips in a pout. “[Of course not!]”

“Um…” Taichi scratched his head. “Could you repeat all that for those of us who have no idea what the heck you just said?” A chime on his D-Terminal startled him into opening it before anyone could answer, revealing a new video message from those still back in the real world.

Miyako gestured to the English speaking group from her position on the DT2s’ screen. “Mimi was chewing Wallace out for not telling her he was a Chosen Child. Wallace said it just happened. Also, he calls his partner Noir.”

“Noir?” Daisuke asked, confused. “That doesn’t sound like a Digimon name.”

“It’s my name and I’m a Digimon,” Noir said with a cheeky smile, wiggling his ears. “So that makes it a Digimon name - _my_ name~!”

“Huh,” Takeru said with a blink, then looked up at Patamon. “I guess it never… occured to me to give you a name, Patamon.” All this time, he had treated ‘Patamon’ as his partner’s name as if he were the only Patamon, but only now did it dawn on him that there might be _other_ Patamon in the Digital World. After all, there was a village of Koromon, with each having the possibility of evolving in to Agumon - or rather, _an_ Agumon. “Does that bother you?”

“No,” Patamon said as he looked down at his partner from atop Takeru’s head. “Not really.”

“This is wonderful!” Sora said as she moved to stand beside Mimi, smiling at Wallace. “How did it happen?”

“I found his egg after the fight,” Wallace said, switching to Japanese. He spoke slowly and carefully, like someone without much practice or experience. “On Halloween, with the goat.”

Yamato’s eyes widened at that. “You mean… Mephismon?!”

“It must have summoned your egg there,” Takeru said with a blink. “I didn’t know that could happen… but I guess it makes sense. I mean, that’s where you were, after all.”

Wallace gave a nod. “The egg didn’t hatch right away. I was worried.”

“Worried?” Mimi repeated, curiously.

Wallace paused before he gave the Chosen of Purity an awkward smile. “[I didn’t understand why he wasn’t hatching, or if I had done something wrong. I kept taking care of him the best I could, but I was afraid that the egg might never hatch. Like maybe it’s appearance didn’t mean what I thought it meant.]”

“But then I _did_ hatch!” Noir chirped as he lifted his large ears upwards. “And just like that, here I am!”

“Wow,” Daisuke murmured. “Noir must’ve made your temple show up at your house like V-mon did for me.”

“Temple?” Wallace repeated, looking confused. “What temple?”

“Some of our Digimon got stashed in temples for safekeeping,” Miyako said, prompting Wallace to shoot her an even more confused stare at the video screen of the DT2 as Taichi held it up for the others. She paused briefly before repeating what she said in English for good measure.

Koshiro grimaced “It was because Piedmon kidnapped eight of our Digimon while they were eggs. After that, the rest of the eggs were hidden away until we could summon them.”

Wallace furrowed his brow, struggling to keep up with Koshiro’s rapid Japanese. “I… don’t remember a temple. A crater, yes, but no temple.”

Koshiro hummed, folding his arms in front of him. “Maybe that’s why your egg took so long to hatch. I doubt those temples were meant to appear in the real world, and if you called your egg to you there then…”

Daisuke’s eyes lit up with a memory. “It must’ve been something weird like when Hikari made that giant egg in the sky! That wasn’t normal for anyone else, right?”

Hikari poked her head into view of the computer screen and, although she didn’t look at Daisuke, she still responded at the mention of her. “I’m not sure anything is really ever ‘normal’ when it comes to us or Digimon. Noir probably came to you because you needed him, Wallace.”

Wallace blinked at that before his expression softened. He instinctively reached up to ruffle the fur on the top of Noir’s head, causing the Black Terriermon to giggle. “I see… because I needed him...”

“Like when Takeru and me needed saving from brainwashed Digimon,” Daisuke added as he flashed his partner a smile. “You showed up in the nick of time, right, pal?”

“You bet!” V-mon replied as he grinned back at Daisuke, clenching his fists together as he raised them up.

Takeru glanced at Daisuke and V-mon before glancing up at Patamon discreetly. It was considerate of Daisuke not to mention _who_ they had needed saving from - there was no point in dredging up something that wasn’t Patamon’s fault, especially since just the veiled mention already brought a grimace to his partner’s face.

Wallace glanced at Daisuke before looking about at the rest of the group. He paused after a moment and furrowed his brow before turning to look at Daisuke. “Ah, your boyfriend is not here?”

“Huh?” Daisuke stared blankly at Wallace, as if the blond had abruptly switched back to English.

“I was a bit worried about meeting him again,” Wallace said with an awkward laugh as he reached up to scratch at his cheek with his left pointer finger. “I didn’t apologize for my mistake. I felt guilty for that.”

“I _told_ Wallace that he probably didn’t even remember it, but Wallace kept fussing and worrying!” Noir chirped before he slapped his paws over his cheeks, pushing them in to give himself a duck face. “Fuss, fuss, fuss!”

“Wait, hold on,” Daisuke said, waving a hand as though it might change the flow of the conversation. “Go back. Did you just say _boy_ friend?”

“Yes,” Wallace said with a blink. “Your boyfriend, the cute purple haired boy I bit at the party.”

“ _What!?_ ” Daisuke screeched, his face turning cherry red. “You think Ken is my…!?”

Wallace jerked at Daisuke’s reaction, his eyes going wide. He hesitated before quickly turning to Mimi, frazzled. “[W-what did I say? Why is he upset? Did I say something wrong?]”

Mimi’s brow knitted in a sympathetic fold. “[Daisuke still hasn’t forgiven Ken for not telling us he was the Digimon Kaiser. They had a… really, really bad falling out.]”

Wallace’s eyes widened at that before he crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. “[I see. I shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry.]”

Daisuke eyed Mimi and Wallace, picking out his name and Ken’s but little else from their English conversation. He tried to keep calm, but a flaring of paranoia had him blurting words out in spite of himself. “What? What did you just tell him about me and Ken?”

“Just that you and Ken are fighting right now,” Mimi said.

Daisuke felt an uncomfortable twist in the pit of his stomach. “You told him about Ken lying to us about being friends, right? How he tricked us and strung us along all that time?”

Mimi let out a long suffering sigh as she put her hands on her hips and her eyes drifted towards the sky. However, she didn’t get a chance to respond before Daisuke began rambling again.

“J-just because I screwed up with Wormmon doesn’t mean I wanted all that to happen to him!” he shouted. “I was just pissed off because Ken tricked all of us! He probably was never _really_ our friend in the first place with that taint and everything!”

Mimi placed a hand on Daisuke’s shoulder to cut him off from ranting further. “Daisuke.” She locked her gaze on his, speaking calmly. “Stop. We already know what happened. It’s time to move on.”

Daisuke felt his heart lurch into his throat. “But…!”

Mimi’s sympathetic look alone was enough to quiet him. “You don’t want to stay angry at Ken and your mistakes forever, do you?”

Daisuke choked on his words. His gaze strayed to the others, realizing that they were staring at him, judging him for how petty he was in comparison to them, how childish and foolish. He couldn’t handle it and turned away, clamping his mouth shut before he said anything else to diminish himself in their eyes.

V-mon watched his partner, feelings of sympathy and anger swelling up inside him. He moved over to grab Daisuke’s hand, holding it supportingly, before he gave the others a hard stare. He wanted to shout at them, to protect Daisuke, but he was at a loss for what to say; it seemed like he couldn’t stop failing Daisuke when he needed him most.

Daisuke looked at V-mon and tried to smile at his partner, but it was a sickly curve that failed to reach his eyes as his stomach twisted and roiled.

Taichi silently met Sora’s gaze, both sharing a deep discomfort at the situation and a strong need to say something. Unfortunately, both lacked any words that were more profound than Mimi’s finishing statement.

Noir stared at Daisuke for a moment before his expression grew mischievous. He lifted a paw to cover his mouth as his ears wiggled. “Ufufufu… but you knooooow… the best part of having a fight with your lover is the [ _make - up_ ]~!”

Wallace jerked at that and quickly turned to stare at his partner, his eyes wide. “N-Noir!?”

Noir’s smile widened as he suggestively wiggled his brow. “Some people even start fights specifically so that they can [ _make - up_ ] afterwards~!”

Wallace nearly choked before he reached up to clamp his hands over his partner’s mouth. “N-Noir, enough!”

Daisuke stared blankly at Noir for a moment, caught up in confusion on the use for ‘cosmetics’ in English, when he belatedly noticed one other, far more important word that was spoken in crystal clear Japanese. His cheeks lit up with red as his eyes flew open wide“‘L-l- _lover_ ’!?!?!”

“I-it’s nothing!” Wallace said quickly as he glanced to Daisuke. “Please forget he said anything!”

“But Waaaaallaaaace,” Noir said. “It’s true!”

“[W-we don’t talk about such things around ladies!]” Wallace scolded.

“But Waaaallaaaaace,” Noir said around his partner’s hand on his mouth, flailing his arms. “They’re not _ladies_ , they’re _boys_!”

“Ken and I aren’t l-l-l… _that_!” Daisuke shouted, charging closer to interrupt the conversation, face ablaze with heat. “We’re both boys! And he’s a lying jerk who _lied_ to me about liking me in the first place! And I’m not gay! I like girls! And even if I was gay, I wouldn’t be l… d-dating someone who only pretended to like me and used me to get to my friends!”

“Then why are you blushing so hard if you’re not thinking of kissing K-” Noir began before he yelped as Wallace yanked him down before shoving him up under his shirt. Wallace held his shirt tightly, muffling his partner.

“P-please ignore him!” Wallace said as he struggled to keep his partner covered.

“But Waaaaallllaaaaaace!” Noir whined through the shirt, which did very little to muffle the Digimon. “If he stops being all tsun-de-re, then they can get to the [ _make - up_ ] already and-”

“I’m not a tsundere, whatever that is!” Daisuke shouted, throwing his arms up into the air. “And I don’t wear makeup because I’m - not - _gay_!”

Noir peeked out through the top of Wallace’s shirt. “Suuuuure, you say that _now_ ‘cuz you’re _fighting_ buuuut-” He couldn’t finish his tease as Wallace abruptly shoved his face back down.

“Noir!” Wallace struggled with his partner, though even he could see it was a fruitless endeavor. “Enough!”

“I’ll say that forever!” Daisuke snapped. “I’m never, ever, ever, ever, _ever_ going to date Ken even if I ever did go gay, which I’m _not_! Besides, there’s no way he or anyone else will _ever_ forgive me after the shit I did to him and Wormmon!”

Those were not the words Daisuke intended to say. He was supposed to reiterate how Ken had tricked them all, how even being tainted could not erase such a betrayal of trust or the feeling that all of the kindness and support of their friendship had been a mask to hide a heart that laughed at his gullibility and stupidity. Those painfully true words were a blow to his stomach that stole his breath away and left him reeling back one step, then another.

Everyone was looking at him. They knew that was the truth. They knew it all along, but were patient with an idiot who couldn’t figure it out until he stumbled into it, like the true heroes they were. They knew that he was the one who was wrong, but they were too noble, too truly heroic to reject him with the absolute disdain a petty, selfish, violent, unforgiving worm like him deserved.

Daisuke couldn’t stand their silent judgement with his admission of guilt still ringing in his ears. All it took for one of them to start speaking - his idol Taichi who had already put him in his place once before when he couldn’t let go of his hatred for his sister - and he snapped. His body moved on its own, snatching up V-mon in one arm as the other raised his Digivice and called forth the Digital Gate.

The landing in the real world was rough, as none of the Chosen observing in front of the computer had time to get away before Daisuke and Chibimon crash landed onto them. He babbled out apologies, but refused to look at anyone as he scrambled to his feet with his partner clutched tightly to his chest and fled the apartment.

\---

The room was dark, though not for lack of lighting. While there were numerous lights running along the ceiling like a hospital room, it was as if the light they gave off was being sucked away in to a black vortex, never quite able to fully escape. The source of said black hole was a massive tube hooked in to the wall, filled with a black liquid. It defied all light, save for a tiny bit of pink that occasionally flickered through, as it swirled about in the tube like molasses.

And within that tube, floating suspended with various wires connected to it, was a large egg that was only visible from the outside when caressed by the thin streams of glowing pink. While there appeared to be splotches of white with pink hearts, the vast majority of it was stained a sickly gray color that distorted the pattern completely.

The Digimon Kaiser regarded the egg in those brief glimpses of light, his mouth set in a distasteful twist. A huff of irritated air escaped through his teeth before he turned to the console attached to the tube. The crests for Darkness and Kindness glowed within their secured settings in the metal housing, safely locked behind unbreakable glass. The data that ran across the screen flashed promising numbers that showed everything was working exactly as he intended.

But it was still not enough to purge the Dark Ocean’s taint from Wormmon.

Dracomon sat on the floor, watching the Digimon Kaiser. After a moment, he tilted his head. “It has only just started, it’s far too soon to be discouraged. The corruption is deep and will need time, but the first step has been taken.”

The Digimon Kaiser let out an angry grunt before his fingers flew across the keys. “It’s not good enough. If he hatches before the corruption is purified…”

“He won’t,” Dracomon said with utter conviction. “You won’t let him. Not until you’re ready for it.”

The Digimon Kaiser paused, hands hovering above the console, before he finally sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, displacing his goggles momentarily. “I never should’ve let this happen.”

Although he spoke quietly, barely a whisper, Dracomon heard every word the Digimon Kaiser spoke.

Dracomon stared at his partner, his expression unwavering as he stood up. “That was not your fault, there was nothing you could have done.” With slow, purposeful steps he made his way to the child’s side with an unwavering gaze. “But things are different now - you’re _free_. Nothing and no one can stop you.”

“Right,” the Digimon Kaiser muttered, his hand curling into a shaking fist. “The Dark Ocean won’t win again. Not ever again.”

“You are going to fix him, and this world,” Dracomon said, with a small nod of his head. “You will purify Wormmon. There is nothing you can’t do.”

“That’s right,” the Digimon Kaiser said as he straightened his back, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. “I’ll fix this broken world even if I have to rewrite every line of its code to do it.”

\---

Baihumon’s heavy footsteps echoed through the enormous throne room, the gaudy golden furniture reflecting his features back at him as he passed. He paid his surroundings no mind, heading deep into the sacred room below the Temple of Miracles, where his master had ruled for millennia.

Now, all that remained were cobwebs and memories.

“It has been some time since I last visited this place,” Baihumon murmured as he came to a stop before the mighty throne, staring at the empty seat.

“Indeed,” a voice came from behind the tiger Digimon, prompting him to pause and glance over his shoulder as Zhuqiaomon appeared within the doorway. “It’s been far too long since you’ve done your duty, the duty Huanglongmon created us for and died for.”

Baihumon narrowed his eyes as he met the fiery sparrow’s gaze, then slowly turned to face him. “I’ve done - and continue to do - my duty, just not in the way that you would wish. There is a difference.”

Zhuqiaomon lashed out at his sides with his great wings, casting fires in all directions around him. “You’ve been hiding away in your fortress since the battle, _that_ battle! You abandoned this world and your duty to that insane human child, and you have the nerve to claim you did anything to stop it?!”

“I have been doing what I must,” Baihumon replied, calm in the face of the other Holy Beast’s fiery rage. “In order to preserve what’s left of our dignity, our _honor_ , since you three discarded it. Don’t try to claim that the grudges _we_ created are a threat to the Digital World itself. They are a _personal vendetta_ , and nothing more.”

“Which is why you hid away like the coward you are!” Zhuqiaomon snarled. “You feared for your life and refused to participate in your duty and bound our hands when dealing with that menace by abstaining from the vote!”

“I did not _abstain_! I voted _no_!” Baihumon roared, his voice booming through the room and causing the very ground beneath them to quake. “You attempt to cast blame, but you cannot deny the truth!” He stepped forward, causing Zhuqiaomon to bristle his flaming feathers. “I am but one of four. You could have overruled me - just like then! So why did you not?” He lowered his head, his tail lashing behind him. “Because Xuanwumon cowered away in fear, while Qinglongmon wallowed in regret. You could not get them to vote a second time.” Baihumon’s eyes blazed as he met Zhuqiaomon’s glare with his own. “I, on the other hand, would vote a thousand times. I feel no shame for _my_ vote.”

“Shame is meaningless in the face of duty!” Zhuqiaomon hissed, glowing with flame. “If you had come from your hole, Xuanwumon would have come and so would Qinglongmon. We could’ve stopped the Digimon Kaiser before they were killed! Their deaths are on your head because you refused to vote to end a tyrant’s murderous reign!”

“Their deaths are their own fault,” Baihumon said, with a low growl. “If anything, they died a far more noble death than they had any right to. In the end, it taught them a valuable lesson - there are consequences to every vote, and we don’t get to decide whether or not we will suffer them.”

“Enough with your sanctimonious drivel!” Zhuqiaomon roared as he flared his fiery wings again. “We are bound to do the will of Huanglongmon, an-”

“ _Huanglongmon is dead_ ,” Baihumon cut off the sparrow with a snarl that echoed through the room like the tolling of a bell. His ears canted back, the tiger Digimon met Zhuqiaomon’s stunned stare with a glare as cold as ice. “He no longer _has_ a will.”

Zhuqiaomon’s outrage was palpable, hanging in the air as thick as smog. A shudder ran through his massive form, quaking his flames like a breeze fanning a forest fire. “How dare you.” His voice was quiet, barely louder than the sizzle of the sparks that fell from his quaking body when they struck the stone floor. “Have you fallen so low as to forget the very purpose of your existence?”

“I could ask you the same,” Baihumon said, his voice rumbling like thunder.

Zhuqiaomon and Baihumon glared at each other, the tension so thick that there was a very real possibility that a lesser Digimon would have suffocated under its weight. It was only after several moments of neither backing down that Zhuqiaomon finally broke the silence with a snort.

“I did not come here for this,” Zhuqiaomon said.

“Neither did I,” Baihumon retorted. “You said you had something of _importance_ , and yet all I’ve heard is the same nonsense you have been spouting since the beginning.”

Zhuqiaomon opened his beak, fury in his many eyes, before he paused, thinking better of unleashing yet another tirade. He only spoke in measured words once he had composed himself. “I called you for your assistance in an important matter.”

“I vote no,” Baihumon said, swiftly.

“It is not a vote!” Zhuqiaomon snapped, his feathers ruffled. He paused before he took a moment to school his features, attempting to recover himself. “It involves… the Chosen Children.”

Baihumon narrowed his eyes a fraction. “Does it now.”

Zhuqiaomon thrust one of his right wings outward and Baihumon followed the gesture with his eyes to a doorway. There standing at the edge of the firebird’s flickering light was a Child Digimon.

The Digimon was small, purple with gold markings along his shoulders and a single horn on the back of his head, and the decorative metal diamond on his brow. He peeked past the door frame with uneasy golden eyes, his arms pulled close to his twin red-striped chest, the wing-like fins attached to them formed a fleshy barrier - for what little it was worth.

Upon seeing Baihumon’s stare, the Digimon squeaked and quickly scrambled into view before bowing deeply. “I-it is an honor, Lord Baihumon! I-I-I am Monodramon!”

Baihumon regarded the new Digimon with suspicion for a moment that felt like an eternity to Monodramon before he finally returned his attention to Zhuqiaomon. “What are you after?”

Zhuqiaomon said as he narrowed his eyes. “We need to discuss Ryo Akiyama.”


	4. Chapter 4

Daisuke didn’t go to school the next day. He left home early, skipping breakfast and running out the house before anyone else woke up. Before, this would have been to avoid Jun, but since Ken utterly destroyed her reputation, she was too busy picking up the pieces of her life at a new school to focus on her little brother. Ironically, it was his parents who he didn’t want to talk to. Before, they dismissed him, overlooking his struggle under the thumb of a narcissistic sibling who abused him and manipulated them at every turn. After Ken ruined Jun’s life, it was a wakeup call for Daisuke’s parents and they took a more vested interest in their children’s lives.

It had been great. For once, Daisuke felt home was someplace safe and warm. He got to cook with his mother Junko every day, and she actually listened and believed him when he talked about his interests. His father, Daichi, approached him to build model kits, and although Daisuke wasn’t terribly interested in putting together little bits of plastic and waiting for glue to dry, he was thrilled that his father stopped treating him like an idiot who would ruin everything.

Unfortunately, it was that increased attention Daisuke couldn’t handle now. After all those times of going to his parents with his problems, only to be dismissed or outright disbelieved, when his parents believed the very worst of him… There was no way he could prove them right; to give them unquestionable proof that he truly was a despicable person.

Daisuke ruined everything.

The sun was beginning to set before Daisuke finally started to make his way home, carrying his duffle bag with Chibimon halfheartedly over his shoulder. After going to everywhere he could think of - everywhere except places he spent time with Ken - he knew that he couldn’t stay out forever. Although he doubted the school would call to report just one day’s absence, his parents were sure to notice something was amiss if he came home after dark. The irony was not lost on him - for once, he was actually guilty of what his school had always accused him of. It was just one more thing to bring him down, making his footsteps heavy as he reluctantly made his way back to his apartment complex.

Inside Daisuke’s duffle bag, Chibimon was in charge of Daisuke’s DT2. And by ‘in charge’, it meant he was responding with extreme hostility to any email sent Daisuke’s way. The little dragon Digimon was beyond furious - at Ken, at their friends, at himself for being helpless to help Daisuke - and yet all he could do as fume impotently. During their day out, Daisuke had made attempts at having fun with him, but he could see just how paper thin that smile on his partner’s face was and it made him angry at the world all the more for making Daisuke suffer.

Every single one of Daisuke’s so-called “friends” sent an email to him - except for Ken of course - and Chibimon answered them all, handling Hikari’s message with particular aggression. She only _now_ decided to reach out to him after giving Daisuke the silent treatment for so long? How dare she! Chibimon didn’t even bother reading what she said before sending a response, making sure that she, like everyone else, knew that _he_ was the one lashing out stern words rather than Daisuke. Let them fight with him. He welcomed it. Fighting for Daisuke’s sake was - literally - his reason for existing.

And it’s what he would do to the very end, no matter what.

Daisuke, oblivious to the battle his Digimon was fighting for him, trudged onward, his eyes cast low. It was less watching where he was walking, and more not having the energy - or the right - to keep his head up. It was for that reason that he didn’t see what was waiting for him, until a familiar voice spoke up.

“I was wondering when you’d be getting back.”

Daisuke gave a start and stopped, looking up to see someone he certainly hadn’t wanted to see - the senpai he had disappointed so often. Taichi stood against the wall near the stairwell, his arms crossed. Agumon was with him, hiding under the stairwell wearing a heavy coat that did the best that it could to hide his features.

“It’s kind of cold out here, y’know?” Taichi said, with a lopsided smile.

Chibimon burst his head out of the duffle bag, outrage clear on his face as he bared his teeth. “I _told_ you to leave Daisuke _alone_! You hurt him _enough_!”

At first, Daisuke froze, gawking at Taichi and Agumon with wide eyes. Without thinking, he whipped around, but found himself unable to flee when his senpai seized him by the hood of his jacket.

“Let’s talk,” Taichi said casually as he began to walk, dragging Daisuke along with him.

Daisuke tried to formulate an excuse, but all that came out was a rattling of nonsense that ended in a squeak.

“No!” Chibimon lunged out to smack at Taichi’s arm, only for Agumon to get in the way, taking the hit for him. It did very little against the much bigger Digimon, who met Chibimon’s furious glare with a calm stare.

“I think we should let Daisuke and Taichi talk,” Agumon said.

“And I think you should mind your own business!” Chibimon snarled, ears canted back and tail lashing. “If you want to fight, we’ll fight!”

“Right, right,” Agumon said, rather dismissively, as he reached out to snatch the baby Digimon from Daisuke’s duffle bag, who squirmed and kicked violently in his claws. “Let’s go over here, out of the way.”

“Hey! Stop!” Chibimon shouted as he thrashed, doing very little to get free of Agumon’s grip as the more experienced Digimon carted him off. “I said _stop_!”

It didn’t take long for Taichi to drag Daisuke to a park playground that went empty after sunset. By that point, both Agumon and Chibimon were well out of hearing range, the baby Digimon’s complaints long faded.

With a light shove, Taichi forced Daisuke to sit down on a worn swing, rattling the chains before they creaked with the younger boy’s weight. Taking the seat next to it, he rocked back onto his heels. “So. You want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

Words failed Daisuke. He couldn’t even look Taichi in the eye as he gripped the chains holding the swing in his faintly trembling hands. This was it. There was no escape now from his senpai’s judgement.

After a prolonged moment of silence, Taichi let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll go first.” Digging his toes into the ground he pushed himself back, making the swing creak as he swayed back and forth. “You know what’s really bugging me right now? How much of a jackass I was to you. I mean, big time, like the biggest butthole to ever fart out a huge load of stupid.”

The description knocked Daisuke for a loop, and he jerked around to outright gawk at Taichi. “Wha…? What’re you talking about, Senpai?”

Taichi continued to swing, his expression nonchalant. “Back when you first told Chibimon what a jerk your sister is. You weren’t even talking to me, but, like an idiot, I just jumped right on in to chew you out when I had no right to open my mouth and spew crap about something I didn’t know anything about like I was an expert.”

The memory twisted inside Daisuke’s chest, still painful even after Taichi and Yamato had apologized after learning the truth about Jun. Worse still was the notion that Taichi was saying such disparaging remarks. It reminded him of how he blamed himself sometimes for how easily Jun manipulated him. “It… it’s not your fault, senpai. You didn’t know-”

“Exactly.” Taichi pointed at Daisuke, the soles of his shoes skidding in the dirt to slow his momentum to a halt. “I _didn’t_ know, but I still acted like I knew everything even though I’m supposed to be your senpai and watch out for you. I treated you like dirt even though you’ve been my friend for a whole lot longer than I even knew that bi… _jerk_ existed, just because I thought I knew better than you. I was an asshole, and you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”

“Y-you…,” Daisuke stammered, growing flustered after all the self-flagellating he did that day. “You already apologized to me before, senpai. You… you don’t have to do it again. Not after I…”

Taichi waited, but after a full minute of awkward silence ticked by, he knew Daisuke needed a little more gentle prodding. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes still feel like a jerk for what I did. Especially the times when I see you struggling with something, but you don’t know who to talk to without getting told off for it. If I never blew up at you, then maybe you wouldn’t think you can’t talk to any of us when something’s bothering you.”

“That’s not…” Daisuke faltered, turning away from Taichi to stare down at his shoes, shoulders hunching. “I’m not… I’m not trying to make you feel bad, senpai.”

“That’s not what I’m getting at,” Taichi said, brow furrowing. He paused for a moment to consider his next words with care. “I’m not here to feel bad. I’m here because _you’re_ feeling bad. Because you’re my friend. And when something goes bad in your life I wanna be there to listen and do what I can to help, not a jerk who yells and makes the bad things worse. I’d rather get buried in Digimon poop every day for a month straight than do something as crappy as that again.”

Daisuke let out a breath that tried to be a laugh but could only aspire to be a wheeze. “Yuck. Don’t remind me.”

Taichi heard the faintest hint of that laughter and smiled in triumph. “Hey, I don’t wanna think about it either. That fight was _disgusting_.”

“No kidding,” Daisuke muttered before sticking out his tongue with a grimace.

Taichi rocked back onto his heels before leaning over to pat Daisuke’s shoulder. “So, what I’m trying to say is you can tell me what’s _really_ on your mind when it comes to Ken and what happened. I promise I won’t flip out on you again.”

Daisuke could only hold Taichi’s gaze for a moment before guilt twisted in his guts, forcing him to stare down at the dirt divot beneath his feet. “I…” He faltered, quiet for a while before trying again. “What’s there to talk about? Ken used me to get to you and Hikari-chan and everyone else…” The guilt burned inside him until it grew into nausea. “Then I made everything worse, like usual.”

“Come on,” Taichi said lightly. “You’ve got a lot more victories than losses with this ‘Chosen’ stuff, ya know?”

Daisuke shook his head. “No, I mean… That’s how Jun always got to me. She’d do something terrible to piss me off, and I’d just… snap.” He sucked in a breath, his muscles tensing. “Then she could use it to make _me_ look like the bad guy all along. It’s how I got kicked outta schools.” When he couldn’t easily pull his knees closer to his body he simply folded over into them, his voice dropping low. “‘Cept Jun never did that crap to me because of mind control, so I really _am_ the bad guy this time… and I just can’t _stop_ either… I’m still so… so _angry_!”

Taichi rubbed Daisuke’s shoulder, brows knitting in sympathy. “Hey, you got heated up and messed up. That’s all. It happens to everyone. Stuff only _stays_ messed up if you let it.”

“Like driving my friends crazy ‘cause I can’t stop being mad at Ken even though I know Hikari’s right?” Daisuke muttered. “I ruined everything with her too.”

Taichi couldn’t help but laugh, though he cut himself off quickly. “Come on. Hikari will forgive you as long as you show her you’re really sorry like you’re doing right now with me.”

“That’s just it!” Daisuke blurted out before slapping his hands over his face, muffling his raised voice. “I can’t stop being mad! How can I really be sorry if all I can think about is how Ken played me like he was Jun after I trusted him? I really thought he liked me too, but he was just using me because some creepy voices in his head told him I’d be dumb enough to fall for it?”

Silence hung between the two boys as Taichi took the time to carefully consider his response as he rubbed Daisuke’s back. “I can’t help you with how you’re feeling. You feel how you feel, and it’s weird and confusing sometimes, believe me.” He forced out a short, humorless laugh. “Stuff that happened between you and Ken could’ve gone better… but it also could’ve gone worse.”

Daisuke let out a shaky breath. “I turned his partner into a monster and got him and Tailmon killed, senpai. How could it’ve gone worse than _that_?”

A cold shudder ran up Taichi’s spine. “You… really never wanna ask that question, Daisuke. Someone up there might decide to give you an answer.”

Daisuke paused at the seriousness of Taichi’s hushed tone and for a moment he remembered the fate of Keiko and Ryo, which felt like a blow to his already twisted stomach.

“Bad things happen sometimes,” Taichi said as he straightened up, a sober expression on his face. “It’s normal to feel bad about it when it does, no matter whose fault it is, but it’s never gonna get better if you stop moving forward from it.”

It took a while before Daisuke could finally manage a response. “How am I supposed to do that, senpai?”

Taichi began to rock, eliciting a complaining squeak from the chains of the swing. “That depends on you. I know you want to make up with Hikari and be friends again, but what about Ken and Wormmon? After everything that happened, would you ever want to be their friend?”

In spite of everything, Daisuke failed to hold back a hollow, bitter laugh. “Yeah, right. Like Ken would ever _really_ want to be my friend… especially after what I did to him.”

“What if he did?” Taichi asked, cocking his head slightly. “Let’s say, just suppose he comes back and says he’s sorry for what he did and wants to be friends. What would you do then?”

“He won’t-”

“ _What if he did_?” Taichi said quickly to cut off the protest. “What if Ken and Wormmon wanted to forgive you for what happened? Would you want to be friends if they did?”

Daisuke leaned into the chain, the cold metal biting his cheek. “He won’t… why would he want to…” A hand on his shoulder stopped him and, unthinkingly, he turned his gaze to meet Taichi’s.

“If Ken asked you if you could be friends for real this time,” Taichi said slowly, “would you say yes? If you knew for sure this was _Ken_ who wanted to be your friend even after everything that happened and there’d be no hard feelings even if you decided never wanted to see him again, would you _want_ to be his friend?”

Daisuke couldn’t hold Taichi’s gaze as his eyes began to sting and his vision blurred. He looked away, fighting to hold back the emotions that spilled over onto his cheeks with little success. For reasons he couldn’t understand, such a concept had been far too much for him to take. After a long pause to compose himself, he answered with a single nod, not trusting his voice not to give him away.

Taichi pretended he didn’t hear the quiet sniffling, understanding quite well how a man simply couldn’t let another man see him cry. Instead, he gave Daisuke’s shoulder another comforting pat and squeezed it lightly as he stared upwards at the darkening sky, providing his silent support as the younger boy beside him was overcome with emotions he could no longer contain.

It was the least Taichi could do, as Daisuke’s senpai.

\---

Although Daisuke came to school the next day, he didn’t talk to any of the Chosen Children except when prompted, and even then he gave evasive, monosyllabic answers. The second the bell rang to signal the end of school, he was off like a shot, leaving an annoyed Miyako to call after him in a failed attempt to remind him that he was supposed to be participating in cleaning duty that week.

“I hope he’s doing okay,” Takeru said as he grabbed a bucket from the storage closet, along with fresh washcloths waiting to be used. “He still won’t answer my emails or calls. But I can’t really force him to talk to me if he isn’t ready…”

Miyako huffed quietly as she carried the erasers to the nearest window. “He could’ve at least helped us out after leaving it to us yesterday.” Upon opening the window, she had to pause to shiver when the cold december air crept in, but soon was taking out her frustration on the erasers by beating them together outside. “We left him alone after he told us he didn’t want to talk this morning, didn’t we?!”

The only children assigned to cleaning duties that week were the Chosen Children. This wasn’t by coincidence, as Miyako used her influence as class representative to arrange it this way so that their Digimon could come out and help when everyone had left. This allowed them to talk discreetly and get the chore done far faster than normal.

“Daisuke is dealing with some very troubling emotions,” Iori said as he helped Miyako. “I see no harm in giving him a little more time to address them.”

Miyako merely grumbled in response as she beat the erasers some more.

“Grrrrr!” Kyokyomon growled ferociously as he zipped across the floor as fast as his back legs could propel him, his front legs firmly holding the washcloth as he went. “Grrrrrr!”

Pafumon followed after Kyokyomon, floating directly over him. At one point, she turned to point her ears at a nearby part of the floor. “You missed a spot.”

Kyokyomon immediately whipped about to attack the area in question, scrubbing it furiously. “I won’t be defeated!”

Miyako blinked before she gave her partner a lopsided grin. “You could help, you know.”

“I _am_ helping,” Pafumon said. “I’m _supervising_.”

Hikari took one of the washcloths from Takeru, but lingered nearby for a few moments more before she gathered her nerves. “Hey,” she said quietly, knowing that she didn’t need to whisper but feeling uncomfortable raising her voice all the same. “Did… did my brother mention anything to you or Yamato about Daisuke?”

Takeru blinked as he glanced to Hikari. “No, he hasn’t. Should he have?”

A sigh escaped Hikari as her eyes slid ascance. “I guess not… It’s just… Taichi went to talk to Daisuke yesterday, but he wouldn’t tell me anything about how it went. All I got out of him was that it was ‘man talk,’ so I thought maybe if he talked about it with anyone, it’d be with Yamato.”

“If he did, my brother hasn’t said anything,” Takeru said thoughtfully. “‘Man talk’, huh…”

“It’s too soon to know if anything will change,” YukimiBotamon said as she hopped on to a desk by Hikari. She wiggled her ears as she gave Takeru a thoughtful look, one that didn’t fit her squishy face. “But at the very least, Daisuke was able to say _something_ to us today - even if it was to ask that we leave him alone.”

“Did Taichi look upset or troubled at all after talking with Daisuke?” Patamon asked as he fluttered over to the bucket to take a washcloth for himself.

Hikari hesitated for a moment, thinking back to the night before. Normally, Taichi’s face was an open book to anyone who saw him, especially for someone who lived with them their entire life, but after the talk with Daisuke it was too hard for her to read. “I… don’t think so.”

Patamon smiled brightly. “Then you shouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure Daisuke just needs a little space to think things through for himself, that’s all.”

“I guess…,” Hikari muttered as she watched Patamon land beside YukimiBotamon to hand her one end of the washcloth.

YukimiBotamon accepted the washcloth, holding it carefully with her mouth. “This would be easier with hands…” she said, muffled by the washcloth.

Patamon waited until their partners moved on to other desks to speak to YukimiBotamon in a lowered voice. “About that… It’s been a while now since you hatched, and it took you a while to hatch in the first place. Is something wrong? You should’ve evolved back to Tailmon by now.”

YukimiBotamon paused at that before she quickly shot Hikari a glance, making sure her partner wasn’t within earshot. She then glanced to Patamon. “I’m avoiding taking any unnecessary energy from Hikari. She doesn’t have anything to spare, so I’ll have to evolve on my own for the time being.”

“What!?” Patamon yelped, which drew a few eyes their way. He shot the others an embarrassed, apologetic smile for his outburst and hastened to scrub, pretending it never happened. Only when he was sure that the rest of his friends went back to their own conversations did he dare whisper again. “What’s wrong with Hikari?” He chanced a glance at the girl in question who was engaged in her own whispered discussion with Takeru. “She’s always had the most energy out of everyone to give!”

YukimiBotamon’s ears canted back. “She hasn’t had much to spare for quite some time now. Not since… _that_.”

Patamon almost asked what ‘that’ was when the answer hit him. “You mean… since everyone got drained by the orb?”

YukimiBotamon gave a small nod, her eyes darting to Hikari to make sure the Chosen of Light couldn’t overhear.

“I didn’t realize…” Patamon glanced at Hikari then back to YukimiBotamon. “I mean, I know she was sick in bed for a couple weeks afterward, but I thought she recovered a long time ago.”

“I don’t think even Hikari realizes it,” YukimiBotamon said before she narrowed her eyes. “And I prefer it to stay that way. She blames herself enough for what Millenniumon did.”

Patamon sobered at the name, brow furrowing. “I remember, the orb tapped into Tenraimon’s power and caused a lot of weird stuff to happen to you and Hikari. Do you think it did something else to her that’s still affecting you two?”

“It clearly did _something_ ,” YukimiBotamon said as she flicked an ear. “We already know that the orb gave Millenniumon a direct line to Tenraimon’s power… _through_ Hikari.”

Patamon nodded solemnly, understanding the YukimiBotamon’s anger. “So then, that must mean-”

“I’m on my own,” YukimiBotamon cut in before she gave Patamon a wink. “Don’t worry. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again.”

Patamon looked at his friend for a long time before wrapping a wing around her. “You know, you’re not _completely_ alone in this. Even if I can’t give you my energy, I’ll still be by your side every step of the way.”

YukimiBotamon’s expression softened. “Thank you.”

The Chosen Children and their partners continued cleaning their classroom diligently. Just as they were about to finish, a beep caught their attention - an email from their DT2. Takeru was the first to get his DT2 from out of his bag, flipping it open to see the message while the others stopped to look at him.

“It’s from Koshiro,” Takeru said. “He wants to meet up to go over something he found on his scanner logs from last night.”

“Well,” Iori said with a blink. “That could be both good or bad, depending on what it is he found.”

“Did he say else?” Hikari asked, furrowing her brow.

“Nope,” Takeru said as he closed his DT2. “Looks like we’ll find out when we get there.”

“Which means we need to finish up,” Miyako said as she placed her hands on her hips. “If it’s not an emergency, then there’s no reason to leave this half done.”

“So don’t even _think_ of ditching!” Pafumon said as she hovered over Miyako’s head.

Iori gave a sharp nod. “Exactly.”

“Spoken like a true class rep,” Takeru said with a playful smile. “Alright then, let’s finish this up so we can get down to business!”

\---

Sora tried to be discreet as she looked at her DT2 while standing along the sidelines, her bag resting on one of the benches by the tennis court. Seeing the message to meet up, she privately lamented that Koshiro hadn’t sent the message sooner - it would’ve been easier to just skip club entirely rather than leave halfway through. At the very least, she wouldn’t have gotten changed.

Ultimately, her lamentations couldn’t change anything, and she knew it. She’d just have to deal with the situation as usual - which meant sending a quick message that she’d be late, along with her apologies.

Sora quietly snapped the DT2 closed before she sighed and leaned back against the chain link fence that separated the various tennis courts from each other. It was hard enough getting through club as it was, but knowing it was keeping her from places she needed to be made time drag on even more than normal.

“Honestly, it’s just so much trouble,” Sora murmured before she gave a weak smile. “Well, complaining isn’t going to change anything. I just have to grin and bear it.”

“Takenouchi!” a familiar voice heavy with bass bellowed, startling her out of her thoughts. “Get over here!”

Sora blinked as she looked over to see the coach staring at her, his expression disapproving. She paused before moving to obey, making her way across the court to where the man stood expectantly. “Yes?”

“I saw you playing with your video game,” the coach growled, his stance stern as he thrust his palm in her direction. “Hand it over. Now.”

Sora stared at the coach, confusion clear on her face. “Video game?”

The coach scowled harshly before pointing at the D-Terminal. “Don’t give me that. I can see it right there in your hand!”

Sora glanced down at the D-Terminal before realization dawned. She had meant to put it back in her bag, but had clearly forgotten. “Oh, this isn’t a video game.” She hesitated as she tried to figure out what specifically to explain what it was with the least amount of _actual_ explanation. “It’s a really advanced cell phone.”

“Cell phone?” the coach repeated, mouth twisted with disbelief as he took a second look at the device. After a moment, he shook his head. “I don’t care what it is. It’s a distraction and against the rules. I’ve heard numerous complaints about you goofing around instead of paying attention to club, and now I’ve caught you in the act.”

Sora frowned as she furrowed her brow in confusion, before she heard a snicker from behind her. She didn’t have to look to know who it was, and it immediately answered the question of who had been ‘complaining’ about her - Rie and her friends. It was enough to get her hackles raised, as she was sure they were enjoying the show they had started.

The coach reached his hand out towards Sora, his palm facing upwards expectantly. “Now hand it over. You’ll get it back after practice.”

Rather than comply, Sora pulled the DT2 back and held it against her chest. “Actually, something has come up, so I’ll have to leave early today.”

The remark only served to make the coach more irritated. “Again?! Look, Takenouchi, you can’t keep blowing off practices like this. And now you’re not even paying attention when you’re here! I’m not going to stand for this kind of behavior anymore, do you hear me?”

Sora blinked at that. The snickering grew louder but the Chosen of Love did her best to ignore them. “I can’t help it, I have responsibilities outside of this club that I-”

“You’ve got responsibilities to this club!” the coach snapped, pointing at the court beneath their feet. “I don’t care about excuses. If you can’t give this club the 110% of your time it deserves, then you’re letting the whole team down! What do you think your teammates are thinking about you right now when you just blow them off to play video games and goof off?”

As the coach made a sweeping gesture, Sora unthinkingly followed the path of his hand. No one was practicing anymore, every girl in the club and even some other students milling outside the fence were staring at her, watching the coach read her the riot act. Rie caught her attention over any other gawker, as the other girl whispered to their teammates around her to elicit a round of giggles. She could see that Rie was relishing every moment.

Sora stood in silence for several moments as she slowly processed what was happening, and what the coach had just said to her. All eyes turned to her, some gleefully so, as they waited for her to react. However, instead of tears or apologies in face of such public shaming, the Chosen of Love just felt _baffled_.

While she understood the words he spoke, they seemed so outrageous that she couldn’t wrap her head around them. According to her coach, she was expected to dedicate everything to the club and it alone - even at the expense of everything else. Her school, her family, her friends, and even her duties as a Chosen Child were all supposed to be secondary to the tennis club.

Part of her pointed out that the coach was correct - that the club was supposed to be very important, not only to her, but to her teammates. It wasn’t just that it would look good on her college application, it was simply _expected_ of her. She, as a student, was expected to dedicate herself to her education and her club or she was a failure at both.

But that’s what she had been doing, wasn’t it? Even now, she was holding up an important meeting with her friends because of a _tennis club_. They were waiting on her, the Digital World was waiting on her, while she did her best to meet her obligations. And yet, was she really? The coach was right, she was skipping the club more and more. But it wasn’t just to sneak off or ‘play games;’ she was trying to help people. The Digital World depended on her, as did her friends.

Yet, didn’t the club depend on her as well? The coach was right, she wasn’t exactly dependable the past few months as she would disappear suddenly whenever anything came up. She was hardly the only Chosen Child - there were twelve of them now, including Wallace. Surely they could do without her while she met her other obligations?

The stray thought immediately sparked a surge of anger - of _outrage_ \- as her first instinct was to reject it resoundingly. The idea was ridiculous - absurd, even. If there was anything she should be dedicating her attention to, it was her duties as a Chosen Child. The very suggestion that she should be more concerned about hitting balls around a tennis court with _these people_ than helping her _friends_ protect the Digital World felt so completely insane that it was laughable to even suggest it. The very idea felt like a fundamental betrayal, one that would have elicited a sharp retort from her if anyone else had said it aloud.

Many things were expected of Sora - to be a good student, to do well in clubs, to be a dutiful daughter. In all of these things, she had complied, doing her best to meet those standards and try to be happy in the process. Yet, time and again these obligations were keeping her from doing what she needed to do. While she was standing there being humiliated due to the actions of a jealous little girl holding onto a years old grudge, her friends were waiting for her.

She was _always_ making them wait, for some _club_ that, in the end, meant absolutely nothing.

Clearly, the coach and the students watching the show of her ‘public humiliation’ had nothing important to do - or at the least, had no scope of what was _actually important_. None of them had people - _worlds_ \- depending on them. None of them had to brave a foreign land with the real possibility of death haunting them around every corner. None of them had to fight to survive, to protect others that couldn’t protect themselves. The worst they ever had to deal with were _bad test results_ or what school they’d be getting in to - _neither_ of which would result in someone’s _death_. For goodness sake, one of their own had _died_ because of their duties as a Chosen Child! There was no doubt in Sora’s mind that Keiko would rather be standing there listening to some middle aged man rant about ‘responsibility’ in front of a bunch of giggling girls instead of being _dead_ and trapped in what was the digital equivalent of _Hell_!

Realistically, Sora knew she shouldn’t begrudge her classmates or her coach for being so sheltered. However, she also couldn’t accept their belief that the club was more important than _anything else_. The concept was so narrow, so completely shortsighted that she honestly felt like she was surrounded by kindergarteners rather than an adult and classmates her own age. She was surrounded by ignorant, self-centered people who couldn’t comprehend that their tiny bubble in no way constitute the entire world and that there was a far bigger picture than any one of them could even imagine. If anything, she was ‘goofing around’ by wasting her time _here_ …

In that moment, Sora felt things click in to place. It was like a puzzle had all its missing pieces found again, and the full picture was right in front of her. Any confusion within her was gone in an instant, leaving her with absolute clarity.

The Chosen of Love’s expression deadpanned before she turned back to the coach. “They’ll just have to understand that I have very important things to do in my life. And, if they can’t accept that, that’s entirely their problem.”

Such an assertion caught the coach off guard, but a moment later he recovered with an even sterner scowl. “Don’t you talk back to me like that, missy! If you can’t commit to your team and give them the respect they deserve, then you can take your video games and bad attitude and leave and don’t come back!”

Sora’s expression didn’t change. Instead, she held the coach’s gaze unwaveringly, silent for several moments. The murmuring around her continued as her classmates watched intently - clearly still expecting _something_. Then, like a light being flicked, a bright smile appeared on the Chosen of Love’s face. “Okay!”

Without waiting for a response, Sora turned sharply on her heels, striding away - straight towards her bag on the bench.

The coach stared flabbergasted at the young girl’s back. “Hey! _Hey_! Where do you think you’re going, Takenouchi?!”

Sora put the DT2 in her bag before zipping it up, then hefting the bag to place the strap over her shoulder. With it secured, she then turned to face the coach. “I’m leaving.”

“You’re… _what_!?” the coach repeated, as if he didn’t understand the words coming out of Sora’s mouth.

“I’m leaving, and I won’t be coming back,” Sora said as her expression grew impassive. “I could say many things to you right now. I could argue with you, tell you all the ways that you’re wrong. I could explain that I have very valid reasons for what I’m doing, and why. But in the end… I won’t. Because, quite frankly, it’s none of your business. You’re not worth my time, and perhaps you never were. I’ve slowly come to realize that, after all you’ve done to inconvenience me and keep me from doing things that actually mattered - things that are far more important than something that will be nothing more than a single line on a college application.” The Chosen of Love paused before she smiled crookedly. “This is nothing more than a last straw among many straws, and I guess it’s been a long time coming.”

While Sora enjoyed the stunned look on not only the coach’s but Rie’s face as well, she didn’t allow her to indulge in it too much. She wasn’t about to give them that level of power over her. Not now, and never again.

Sora gave a small, curt bow. “Thank you for the lessons, even if it’s not exactly what you wanted to teach me.” She then straightened up. “Now, excuse me.” With another snap of her heels, the Chosen of Love turned and headed towards the entrance to the school locker rooms with an air of confidence.

“Takenouchi! You come back here right this instant!” the couch snapped, though his voice grew more shrill as it didn’t have the desired effect, with Sora continuing to walk away. “Takenouchi!”

Sora hesitated only long enough to grab the door handles, turning to open them wide. She stood in the doorway as she met the coach’s stare with a gaze of her own, then purposely yanked the door shut between them.

\---

The meeting of the Chosen was abuzz that afternoon in Koshiro’s apartment, the children and Digimon still caught up in the excited knowledge that they discovered the identity of the final Chosen Child. Wallace fairly basked in the glow, despite his less than stellar first outing, but every yawn that escaped him despite his attempts to stifle his fatigue dented his ego a little with embarrassment each time he let one slip. Staying up late multiple times in a row had wore him down to the bone. By contrast, Noire seemed to drink from an endless well of energy until he no longer knew what sleep was. Wallace envied the Black Terriermon his stamina.

During the conversation, which was something too rapid for his rough Japanese to keep up with, he noticed how surprisingly animated Mimi and Palmon were, despite it being the wee hours of the morning back home in America. She went to school just like him, yet she was still as bright here as she was then. He waited for a lull in the conversation to open up an opportunity for him to slide in next to his friend and whisper the question pressing on his mind.

“[How are you still awake, Mimi?]” Wallace asked, fighting hard against his mouth’s rogue attempts to form the shape of yet another yawn.

Mimi blinked, startled by the unexpected question, then let out a giggle before winking at the tired boy. “[Palmon and I sleep twice a day - half after school, and half after Chosen duties. It really helps. You should try it too!]”

“[I think I’ll have to,]” Wallace said with a smile that was eaten by a yawn, which he inwardly cursed. If only he could inherit his father’s acting abilities through genetics like he did with his blond hair then he could at least _pretend_ that he wasn’t ready to fall over at any moment.

Takeru watched the tired-looking Wallace and energetic Mimi talk before he glanced around the room, taking a visual headcount. “It looks like the only one not here yet is Sora.”

“She was in the middle of club, so it’ll probably be a bit before she shows,” Yamato said. “Should we just go ahead or wait for-”

At that moment, the front door opened to reveal Sora, still in her tennis garb. She held her bag awkwardly as Piyomon hopped around her, pleased as punch for reasons currently unknown to the Chosen Children.

“S-sorry, I’m here now!” Sora said, hurriedly. “I’m just going to the bathroom to change, so go on ahead without me!” The Chosen of Love didn’t wait for a response as she carried her bag to the bathroom, though she unceremoniously dropped her racket by the bathroom door before she closed it behind her.

Yamato blinked as he stared after the Chosen of Love. “That was… fast.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said, the corner of his mouth twisting downward. “Usually club lasts an hour, and Sora always gets a shower and changes in the gym right after.”

Yamato narrowed his eyes. “Something must have happened.”

“It did!” Piyomon chirped happily. “Sora was fan - ta -stic~!” She hopped over to her friends, fluttering her wings about. “See, the coach tried to take away the DT2 from Sora, and Sora was all, ‘I’m not giving it to you.’ While the coach was all, ‘Give me the thing or you’re out of the club.’”

Agumon stared at Piyomon with wide eyes. “What happened?”

Piyomon beamed, her beak curving in a brilliant smile that was impossible for a flesh and blood avian to do. “Sora gave the coach a _look_ \- and Rie too since Rie was laughing at her again. I think Rie might’ve told the coach lies about Sora again. Anyway!” She threw her wings up to dismiss the tangent. “Sora was all, ‘I’m done with this club. I have more important things to do.’ And she left without looking back even once!”

Taichi blinked repeatedly at Piyomon. “Whoa. Really?” He lowered his voice into a quiet mutter. “Figures the one time I don’t wait for her is when something happens.”

Piyomon giggled, starry-eyed, as she did an impromptu dance in front of the others, her excitement overflowing. “Sora was a - ma -zing~! She doesn’t let _anyone_ bully her, not even adults!”

It was at that moment that Sora left the bathroom, having quickly changed to her regular clothes. A shower really wasn’t necessary, given she hadn’t actually done any exercise yet. Shoving her uniform roughly into her bag, she paused when she noticed all eyes on her as Piyomon twirled about happily. “Huh?”

“Sora, Sora, Sora~!” Piyomon practically sang as she hopped over to her Chosen Child. “I was just telling everyone how cool you were when you told that bully coach he can’t push you around~!”

Sora’s eyes widened before her cheeks tinted red. “O-oh, that… it really wasn’t anything special.”

“Yes it was!” Piyomon responded with a sunny grin. “Because _you’re_ special, then what you do is always special.”

Taichi walked to Sora’s side, enticed by her flustered appearance to slide an arm around her, even though the action added a rosy dusting to his own cheeks. “I’ve gotta side with Piyomon on this one, Sora. Makes me wish I didn’t go on ahead and miss out on seeing you kick ass.”

Sora’s blush deepened as she glanced at Taichi before looking away. “I-it really wasn’t… I just said what I was feeling, that’s all.”

“It’s still cool,” Taichi said wryly.

Sora’s blush spread to her ears as her heart skipped a beat. “Ah…”

“Well, that solves that,” Yamato said with a grin. While he wanted to press more on what Piyomon had meant about Rie, he opted to let Sora enjoy the moment - even if she didn’t want to admit that she was.

“Since we’re on the topic of good news, I’ve got some too,” Koshiro said with a smile from his seat in front of his open laptop. “My scans detected Miracles early this morning. There’s no mistaking it on the logs.”

“What?!” Jou cried out as he stood up. “Seriously!? Where?”

“It first appeared in the same area as the Altar of Pride and Passion,” Koshiro said as he brought up the map, and with it a time-lapse of the crest of Miracles pulsating over the stated area. “It then moved to the Temple of Miracles for several hours before returning back to the altars.” The crest moved about the world as the Chosen of Knowledge spoke, highlighting the trek for the others.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Taichi asked rhetorically, excitement bubbling up. “Let’s go and-”

“I would advise against it,” Iori cut in, his voice firm. He glanced towards Miyako, his expression meaningful. “Not while it’s… where it is.”

Miyako pursed her lips around the sour memory. “Yeah, that’s Zhuqiaomon’s place. Ken seemed pretty sure if Zhuqiaomon caught me, I’d be dead.”

“Wasn’t that just because of his own issues with the Holy Beasts?” Yamato asked as he quirked an eyebrow. “I mean, he _was_ trying to kill _them_.”

Miyako folded her arms and furrowed her brow as she considered the question. “Ken might’ve been paranoid about Holy Beasts, yeah, we can’t rule that out. But given the fact that he knew we were going to see Baihumon all the time and didn’t say a word except to avoid going himself, I think there’s too big a chance that Zhuqiaomon’s opinion of us might be a little… murdery.”

“That’s… a really good point,” Takeru said, thoughtfully. “Ken didn’t seem too concerned about Baihumon, at least not like he was with Zhuqiaomon. I wonder why?”

“Something must’ve happened between Ken and the other three Holy Beasts,” Hikari said softly. “He mentioned there was a war going on… one he didn’t start but was finishing by… taking them out.”

Taichi let out an uncomfortable hum at the back of his throat. “It must be pretty big, if he’s still gunning for them after everything that’s happened.”

Daisuke’s face twisted, as if he had a foul taste in his mouth. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he knew far better to voice it - especially after what happened the other day. Instead, he kept his mouth firmly shut, so tightly that his teeth ached.

“So, what should we do then?” Sora asked as she looked at the others.

“We could ask Jijimon and Babamon,” Jou said as he raised his pointer finger up. “They’re at the temple, so they must have seen _something_!”

“I believe that would be the safest course of action,” Iori said with a nod.

“We should keep our expectations in check,” YukimiBotamon said as she glanced about the room. “It’s okay to be hopeful, but don’t be unrealistic.”

“It could be Ryo, but it could be someone else entirely.” Patamon said as he furrowed his brow.

“Right, so everyone be careful,” Yamato said as he pulled out his digivice. “And let’s see if Jijimon and Babamon are in the mood to be more open with us, for once.”

With a flash of a digivice to open a Digital Gate, the assembled Chosen Children quickly ventured to the Digital World. As the gate whisked them along, the real world apartment was replaced with the colorful decadence of the temple of the DigiGods, with the massive mural depicting their all fifteen crests surrounding them on the stone floor.

Wallace gazed at their surroundings in wonder, his eyes wide as he took in every detail. From his shoulder, Noir did much the same, staring down at the intricate symbols interwoven among the lines that surrounded the colorful marks of the crests.

Standing in front of the altar of Miracles was none other than Jijimon and Babamon, who looked at the Chosen Children calmly. Neither showed any sign of surprise as they watched the children arrive in their midsts.

“‘Bout time you all showed up!” Jijimon said with a sniff. “Gettin’ kind of lazy, arentcha? Made me lose my bet to this old bat.”

“Hush, you,” Babamon said as she tapped her broom against the floor. “You need to learn patience and give these children a chance to learn and do things at their own pace.”

“You… were expecting us?” Takeru asked, with a blink.

“‘Course we were!” Jijimon said. “After all the other visitors we’ve been having, we figured it was only a matter of time before _you_ came sniffin’ about as well.”

“What other visitors?” Hikari asked, suddenly at attention.

Babamon sighed softly, her shoulders sagging just a little. “No one you’re looking for, dear, sorry.”

Hikari wilted at the news, going silent.

“It ain’t gonna be that easy,” Jijimon said with a shake of his head. “It never is.” He paused before he gave another sniff as he glanced at Hikari. “But that’s just business as usual, right? So don’t let it discourage ya.”

“We won’t,” YukimiBotamon said, with great conviction, before she glanced up at Hikari. “We’ll keep going forward.”

Hikari straightened up a bit as she met her partner’s gaze and nodded. She wouldn’t give up on Ken so easily.

Wallace glanced around the cathedral in awe, taking in the sights. However, he was quickly distracted from his sightseeing by suddenly finding Jijimon and Babamon up close and personal, staring at him intently.

The blonde blinked before he gave an awkward smile. Their intense scrutiny was more than a little startling, though he tried not to show it. “H-hello, nice to meet you!”

“Weeeelll,” Jijimon said slowly as a beady brown eye peered out from under his bangs. “Now aren’t you a hot piece of sliced cheese.”

Wallace’s eyebrows shot straight up as Jijimon leaned in close. “Eh?”

“Listen, you,” Jijimon said as he pointed a finger at Wallace. “If you so much as _think_ of making a move on my wife...” He then gave the boy a toothy grin. “...Then you better promise it’s for _keeps_ and you won’t give her _back_ -”

Babamon’s staff swung about with extreme vengeance, slamming her husband’s face straight into the floor of the cathedral. The floor splintered as Jijimon face-planted into it, with spider web-like cracks appearing around him.

Wallace stared as Jijimon flailed a bit before prying his face out of of the floor, only for the crack to immediately fix itself the moment he was free. “I-I promise you, I would never come between a couple!”

Noir turned to flash Daisuke a mischievous smirk. “At least not in-ten-tion-al-ly~!”

Daisuke’s cheek twitched and took on a light pink hue as he refused to look at Noir, instead glaring at the ground. V-mon glanced at his partner before he shot the Black Terriermon a glare for Daisuke’s sake, though it only served to make Noir giggle.

Yamato watched the two before he gave a small shake of his head. He then straightened up, quickly attempting to redirect the conversation _back_ to where it belonged. “So if it wasn’t who we were looking for, then who _was_ it?”

“The Holy Beasts, or at least what’s left of ‘em,” Jijimon said. “Seems they had somethin’ _real_ important to talk about.”

“Like, oh I don’t know,” Miyako asked as she put her hands on her hips. “The Crest of Miracles, by any chance?”

Jijimon and Babamon paused and glanced at each other. They were silent for a moment before returning their attention to the children.

“That would certainly explain a few things,” Babamon said, gravely.

“That indeed,” Jijimon said with a nod. “It’d take about that to get that Feather-fart out and about.”

“‘Feather-fart’?” Taichi repeated slowly, a bemused expression on his face.

“Yep,” Jijimon said, without a hint of embarrassment. “Old Feather-fart Zhuqiaomon.”

“I, uh, take it you don’t think highly of him,” Jou said with a bead of sweat trickling down his brow.

“Not in the least!” Jijimon said, tapping the tip of his staff against the floor.

“Why is that?” Iori asked. “Is he not an important guardian of the Digital World?”

“That he is,” Jijimon replied with another sniff. “Bein’ one of the four responsible for all decisions in the Digital World would make him pretty damn important.” He paused then cracked a toothy grin. “Well, _most_ decisions, anyway. Naturally, not everyone gives a crap what they have to say and will do their own thing… but the majority do.”

“Wait, what?” Koshiro sputtered. “The Holy Beasts are responsible for _what_!?”

“Mystimon told us they were the followers of one of the gods,” Miyako added before pausing a moment. “The god that died I mean, Huanglongmon.”

Babamon nodded, her lips pursed in a slight frown that twisted the stitches along her mouth. “Our apologies, dears. We forget sometimes that you haven’t been given the time to learn many of the intricacies of how our world works yet. Allow me to explain.”

Turning, Babamon raised her broom and made a sweeping gesture in the air, drawing the children’s eyes to the stained glass windows adorning the temple. “Our world, our _reality_ , was made in three parts from the programs that created our gods, each equally important.” She directed her broom to the east to the glorious glass visage of the sun. “Vaccine became Light in the form of Tenraimon who in turn created _life_ with souls just as real and true as any humans.”

“Viruses became Darkness,” Babamon continued after another pause, gesturing to the west where the silvery moon arranged in glass shards glowed gently. “Darkness in turn brought us Death. Those three aspects in one of course have very negative connotations, and can be abused greatly, but they are vital to our world, to end the entropy that corrupts programs over time so that they might be reborn whole and new once more.”

For a moment, Babamon brought her broom down, the wooden handle clunking softly against the stone floor, and she took the time to look at each Chosen, humans and Digimon alike. Although her bangs completely hid her eyes, they could feel her gaze meet each of them in turn. She lingered on Wallace and Noir in particular before she finally resumed. “Darkness and Light naturally balance each other, being two sides of a single whole. They are absolutes that change very little, unlike the third, and some argue most important, aspect of our very existence.”

That was when Babamon directed her broom to the north where the stained glass depicted a world enshrouded in twilight. “Data became Miracles. Just as a miracle allowed the very data that made up the original programs to evolve into true life, Miracles represent the act of living, growing, and changing. Because of this very nature of change, the power of Miracles is far more fluid than Light or Darkness and needs far more effort to channel it than a guardian avatar speaking for its god. That’s where the Holy Beasts come in. They watch the four corners of our world and take in the measure of change, judging whether it will aid in our evolution as a world or will ultimately be a threat to our very existence.”

“The only problem with that is… with Huanglongmon gone, they’re the ones that get to decide what is or is not a threat,” Jijimon said. “Which, as you might imagine, ultimately comes down entirely to personal opinion.”

“Wait, hold up,” Taichi said, raising his hand for a moment on instinct, as though they were back in class. “The Dark Masters and Apocalymon were _definitely_ a threat to the existence of the Digital World and the real world, so why didn’t the Holy Beasts jump in to stop them?”

Babamon let out a displeased sound at the back of her throat. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly the reason why they didn’t directly pursue those threats themselves, or some others I’ve seen in my time. I do know that, aside from protecting their personal territories, they only act on a vote.”

“A vote?” Mimi blinked, her eyes wide and confused.

Wallace raised his eyebrows. Although his imperfect grasp of the Japanese language left many holes in his translation of the explanation, that one word caught his attention and sparked bemusement in him. “The Holy Beasts are politicians? Are they elected into office?”

Jijimon let out an inelegant snort of laughter through his nose before slapping his knee.

Babamon gave her counterpart an annoyed stare before she sighed and turned her attention back to the children. “ _They_ are not elected like politicians, but their internal process would be a good comparison to a democratic government, yes. To ensure that all major decisions that concern the Digital World are not made in haste or based on personal bias, the Holy Beasts cast a vote… majority rules.”

“Wouldn’t that lead to a lot of stalemates?” Miyako asked as she cocked an eyebrow. “There’s only four of them, you know.”

Babamon sighed again a little more heavily, shoulders slumping. “As I said, the comparison to politics is a good one.”

“So what you’re saying is… there’s a good possibility that they didn’t get involved with the Dark Masters or Apocalymon... because they couldn’t pass the vote to do it,” Yamato said, his expression deadpanning.

“Yep!” Jijimon chirped. “The same reason why ol’ Ken-chan was able to avoid being attacked all at once and killed by the Holy Beast’s vastly superior forces.”

Babamon nodded, her expression pensive. “They must have been in deadlock on how to deal with him or decided to just let Ken-chan do as he pleased.” She paused to sigh again softly. “Or at least, that is the only thing that makes any sort of sense to us.”

Yamato snorted derisively. “So they were so busy with their _politics_ that they couldn’t do anything to stop their own slaughter.”

“Yep!” Jijimon said, his grin wide through his bushy hair. “If I had to wager a guess, Zhuqiaomon and Baihumon would’ve been voting for war, while Qinglongmon would have been against it. That leaves Xuanwumon as the tie-breaker, and he tends to avoid war - or _any_ fight - whenever possible. Which means… two against two, a stalemate.”

Takeru frowned. He recalled back to their first meeting with Baihumon, and his refusal to accept their assistance. He had assumed it was simply out of pride, but Jijimon’s words certainly put a new perspective to the scenario. It was one that he didn’t particularly like.

Daisuke couldn’t help but let out a groan. The more he heard about how the Holy Beasts worked, the more their grandeur evaporated into a cloud of stupidity. “How the heck are they supposed to get anything done if they’re fighting all the time? Who the heck thought this was a good idea?”

“They did, o’ course,” Jijimon said cheerfully.

“To be fair,” Babamon added quickly, “it was the best system they could come up with after Huanglongmon died. Originally, they were meant to represent equal opinions on matters to their god, who would then serve as ultimate judge and arbitrate what actions the Holy Beasts would take based on the arguments they presented to him. With his absence, the Holy Beasts are left to debate among themselves what course of action he would’ve taken.”

Hikari frowned. “Why don’t they just ask Tenraimon and Narakumon what they think?”

Jijimon shrugged. “Not their gods. Doubt they even respect those two enough to care one whit that they even exist at all, ‘cept to worry if Narakumon is gonna go nuts and wipe ‘em out.”

“I would imagine it’s deep down in their programming to only obey Huanglongmon and no one else,” Babamon mused as she lightly stroked her chin. “It’d be much the same as asking one of you Digimon to just follow the instruction of a different Chosen Child for the rest of your life, with no chance of seeing your partner ever again.”

The very idea caused every one of the Chosen Digimon to cringe, either inwardly or outwardly, and all of them instinctively turned to their respective child.

YukimiBotamon felt her skin crawl at the idea but she quickly shoved it aside. After all, it was just a hypothetical - one that would never stand, as she’d never accept it. “So they’re unable to adapt. Pretty ironic, given what Miracles stands for. Still, it does explain a few things.”

“So does that mean they came by to vote on something?” Sora asked, furrowing her brow.

“Probably!” Jijimon said. “They went straight to the throne room of Huanglongmon, where all votin’ happens, so odds are pretty good they voted on _something_.”

“Can they still vote, with the others currently… not around?” Jou asked, phrasing his words as delicately as he could.

“Yep, yep!” Jijimon replied with a nod. “If yer dead, yer excused from attending… but yer considered to be abstainin’! So it’s in yer best interests to _not_ be dead, if ya wanna have a say in things.”

Babamon looked weary. “Voting is required attendance for all of them, and can’t happen unless they’re all present, save when they declare they are abstaining from the vote. So, as you might imagine, when one of them gets stubborn about avoiding a vote, it can lead to… in fighting.”

Jijimon snorted. “Puttin’ it mildly there, don’tcha think? Xuanwumon hid in his fortress one time for 20 years avoidin’ a vote and only counted as abstainin’ when Baihumon and Zhuqiaomon came by with their armies to kick his door in and offed him for a while.”

Taichi outright gawked at Jijimon. “Wait, the Holy Beasts have actually killed each other for _that_!?”

Babamon sighed as she ran her fingers across her face. “Unfortunately, for far too many Digimon in this world, death is hardly seen as more than a temporary inconvenience. Xuanwumon was revived and back to normal again in only three days. The Holy Beasts have a more _expedited_ process of revival and evolution than every other Digimon due to the way Huanglongmon made them.”

“T’aint nothin’ to forbid it, neither,” Jijimon replied. “It’s seen as just one way of… negotiation. Though obviously, it ain’t that easy to actually pull off as they’re each equal in power to each other.”

“That’s got to be why Ken screwed over the Village of Beginnings,” Daisuke blurted out before flinching as he felt all eyes on him. “I-I mean…” He faltered, unable to figure out how to soften the statement, but he lacked the words.

Iori watched Daisuke for a moment before turning to the others, his expression showing no signs of judgment. “I agree. The message he left strongly supports it as well.”

“Makes sense,” Miyako said, vaguely gesturing to the side. “If the Holy Beasts come back in full force so fast, the only way to actually _finish_ a war with them surrendering is to cut them off from their literal life hack.”

Koshiro folded his arms, his expression grim. “It’s cold blooded, but it’s the best strategy against an enemy that can’t be killed.”

“Otherwise, he’d be fighting them forever,” Takeru mused as he crossed his arms. “Or until _they_ killed _him_.”

“So once he started it, he had to go all out to finish it,” Yamato agreed. “All or nothing.”

“Unless they were willing to negotiate,” Hikari said, though the suggestion came out tainted with uncertainty.

“With how little it takes for them to kill _each other_ and act like it’s business as usual?” Miyako shook her head. “Messed up as it is, death seems to be like a slap on the wrist to them.”

Wallace frowned as he tried to process everything he was hearing, his arms partially crossed as he tapped his left pointer finger against his chin. It was extremely hard to follow everything that was being said, but at the very least he could understand the basics. It was a bit hard to misunderstand politics and _murder_ , after all.

After a moment, he glanced up to Noir as the Digimon rested comfortably on his shoulders, the Black Terriermon’s chest flopped down on the boy’s head as his ears dangled downwards. The Digimon took no effort in hiding how _bored_ he was with the entire conversation.

“[I’m going to be quite honest, Noir,]” Wallace said quietly. “[Your world can be pretty terrifying.]”

“[Maaaybe, but just think!]” Noir chirped, with a bright smile. “[How much easier would everything go if all your problems could be solved by having your politicians fight to the death? Your dad’s news programs would be _soooo_ much more interesting!]” He then straightened up and clenched his fists, shaking them furiously with an exaggerated scowl. “[Lower our taxes _or else_!]”

Wallace felt a beat of sweat on his brow. Visions of Digimon violently throwing cases of tea at each other rather than into the Boston Harbor filled his mind, with Noir leading the charge in a little patriot uniform. He didn’t know whether to find it unsettling or hilarious. “Ahaha...”

A loud ring stopped the conversation from progressing any further, the sound echoing off the high vaulted ceiling of the temple. It sounded like a cell phone’s ringtone, one very different from the one the DT2s made. The Chosen glanced at each other before turning to Wallace, whose face had gone pale.

The blonde quickly fumbled to reach into his pocket, pulling out a small cell phone. He quickly flipped it open before his already pale face turned ghostly white. A quick glance at the screen told him exactly what he needed to know. “[I-it’s… my dad!]”

“[Uh ohhhh],” Noir said as he perked up. “[Looks like he noticed you’re not in beeeeed! Baaad luck, baaaad luck!]”

“[I can’t believe he noticed!]” Wallace hissed through his teeth. “[He’s _never_ home, so why now-!?]”

“Huh, is that a cell phone?” Daisuke asked before he paused, furrowing his brow. In the past, he would’ve been completely blown away by such technology, especially since it looked like the new first-ever camera phone that had recently been released. But then he recalled his DT2 and all the things _it_ could do, things that cell phones could never even come _close_ to achieving.

Not only was it hard to be impressed by anything else, but it served as a constant reminder of the kind of genius Ken was - on top of being a manipulative liar. The very thought made Daisuke’s stomach churn, his jaw clenching as he fought down the nausea.

Wallace hesitated a moment more before he answered the phone, knowing far better than to allow it to go unanswered. “[H-hello-]”

“[Where are you!?]” a male adult voice thundered through the small device loud enough for the other children to hear, causing Wallace to flinch back and briefly hold the phone away from his ear. “[It’s 3 o’clock in the _morning_ , and you left the house!?]”

“[I-I can explain!]” Wallace stammered as he hesitantly brought the cell phone back to his head. “[You see-]”

“[You can explain - _at home_!]” Wallace’s father, Michael Barton, said with great authority. “[ _Now_!]”

Wallace grimaced before he glanced at the other Chosen. “S-sorry… very sorry, I-”

“We better scram, before Wallace’s dad _scram_ bles us!” Noir chirped, showing far less consideration for the severity of the situation than Wallace did.

“I will explain!” Wallace said hurriedly, his Japanese stumbling over itself in his panic. “I will explain to him!”

Without waiting for a response, the blonde whipped out his Digivice - brown with red accents - before summoning a Digital Gate right in the middle of the cathedral. Within moments, both he and Noir were gone.

The assembled Chosen stared at the now-empty space before turning their attention to each other.

“I guess I take it for granted how much easier it is when you have parents who know about Digimon,” Takeru said as he glanced up at Patamon. “And who _understand_.”

“You’ve got that right,” Patamon sighed, not envying the other Digimon who had to constantly hide instead of relax in their own home.

“It helps not having to sneak around at 3 am~!” Pafumon said as she rolled about, wiggling her ears to propel her in to a barrel roll in the air above Miyako.

Mimi looked thoughtfully where Wallace had been. “I guess I’ll have to talk with Wallace at school later about how we’re going to handle this problem. It won’t be good if he can’t ever come here when everyone is awake.”

“Uh… so!” Koshiro said with a slightly raised voice, at a loss for how else to proceed and deciding it safer just to change the topic to something more productive. “Getting back to the subject at hand… the Holy Beasts have the Crests of Miracles, and likely came here to vote about something.”

Miyako nodded. “And I’m betting Ken or Ryo might’ve been part of that vote, if Miracles was here. Since asking Zhuqiaomon might be suicidal, we should probably go ask Baihumon what he knows.”

“But will he tell us anything?” Takeru asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“At the very least, I can assure you that he won’t _lie_ to you,” Jijimon said with a shrug. “That’d go against his principles.”

Babamon nodded. “Baihumon is the type of Digimon who would father face death a thousand times over than compromise his principles.”

“‘N’ just ‘bout has!” Jijimon added with a grin.

“Well, then!” Yamato said as he turned to Taichi, flashing him a grin. “How about we go knocking on Baihumon’s door and see if he answers?”

Taichi grinned back. “Sounds like a plan to me.”


	5. Chapter 5

The fortress of Baihumon stood like a solemn monument, imposing and inhospitable as its high walls loomed above any that dared appear before it. It was for that reason it was such a surprise when the Chosen Children appeared within them, standing in the courtyard completely uninvited. The Digimon that lived there stopped to stare at the group that emerged from a flash of light, with those on the rampants gawking in befuddlement while those on the ground retreated into the buildings.

“Uh,” Takeru faltered as he glanced about their surroundings, suddenly feeling far less confident than he was a moment ago. “That’s an interesting reaction.”

“T-they don’t appear to be all that happy to see us,” Jou murmured, fidgeting anxiously as he glanced at the staring Digimon, who kept their distance to watch them with no small amount of tension.

“Yyyyeah,” Gomamon said, furrowing his brow. “Maaaaybe we should’ve gated out front and knocked first-”

“Chosen Children,” a booming voice interrupted the small water mammal Digimon, drawing their attention to Baihumon as he appeared within the doorway leading to the inner sanctum. The large tiger Digimon stared at them for several moments before he let out a low rumble in his chest. “So you’ve come.”

Iori frowned. “Were you expecting us?”

“No, I was not,” Baihumon grunted, his ears canting back as his tail flicked behind him. “But I should have. _He_ has never had any qualms with using whatever means necessary to push his agenda. It is only natural he would try to put pressure on me, as if I could ever be swayed by such nonsense.” He paused before shaking his head. “He must be quite desperate to get _you_ involved, however.”

“He?” Taichi repeated. “Who the heck are you talking about?”

“And get involved with _what_?” Yamato added, glancing to Taichi before turning his attention to Baihumon.

Baihumon paused and, for the first time, looked genuinely caught off-guard by the Chosen. His stoic expression was shattered as he stared down at the human children with wide eyes. “Did… Zhuqiaomon not send you to see me?”

“No,” Koshiro said as he looked around at his friends’ bewildered faces before turning back to Baihumon. “We just came to ask some questions.”

Miyako folded her arms against her chest. “Considering we’ve got good reasons to believe Zhuqiaomon would kill us on sight, we don’t really feel eager about dealing with him.”

“Imagine that~!” Pafumon said as she fluttered about, wiggling her ears.

“Then… how did you know to come to me?” Baihumon asked, his confusion still apparent.

“We saw the Crest of Miracles show up on our radar, and followed it to the Temple of Huanglongmon,” Sora said. “Then Jijimon and Babamon told us you had visited.”

“We thought you might know something about it,” Hikari added.

Baihumon opened his mouth to speak before he clamped it shut. The Holy Beast continued to stare at the Chosen Children in silence for several moments before he let out a heavy, defeated sigh. “I see. It would appear that you are far more clever than I gave you credit for - and I far _less_.”

Koshiro looked intently at Baihumon as he stepped forward. “Do you know why the Crest of Miracles appeared at the temple, Baihumon?”

Baihumon hesitated before he gave a nod. “Yes, I do.”

Yamato noted how the Holy Beast lapsed into silence without expanding on his answer. The Chosen of Friendship quirked an eyebrow before he crossed his arms. “You mind letting us in on the details?”

Baihumon didn’t answer right away. As time ticked on, it seemed like he wouldn’t answer at all before he finally found his voice, reluctantly. “Zhuqiaomon found the crest at the scene of the battle against Armagemon.” His expression then darkened. “While we were fighting for the Digital World, it would seem. _Without_ his assistance.”

“Oh,” Mimi said, drooping. It wasn’t the answer she was hoping for, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. “But then, why was it at the temple?”

“Zhuqiaomon asked to meet with me at the temple of our master,” Baihumon said, with a low rumble. “I thought he meant to try and force another vote, but instead… he revealed the crest to me.” There was a weighty period of silence that lingered until a frustrated grunt escaped him. “As well as his plans for it.”

YukimiBotamon narrowed her eyes. “I see… and you thought he had sent us as part of those plans?”

Baihumon’s face twisted, as if he were tasting something sour. “I am hesitant. I have many… _valid_ misgivings, and wished to consider all options rather than give an immediate answer. Your appearance at my fortress lead me to believe that he intended to use you to force my decision. But it seems it was simply coincidence - or twisted irony.”

“Why would we ‘force a decision’?” Takeru asked.

“Because you would ask questions, as you are now,” Baihumon said. “And I would be put in a position to either compromise my integrity and lie or to outright refuse to answer, lest you make the decision for me. And given your behavior up until this point, I have no doubts that you would readily accept his proposal without _any_ consideration for the multitude risks involved - both obvious and unknown to you.”

“W-wait,” Jou said as he raised a hand to point at himself. “He proposed something that involved _us_?”

“I admit that, in hindsight, if he could have simply sent a messenger to you himself, he would not have approached me to do it for him,” Baihumon said, his voice low. “I was careless.”

Taichi scratched his head, his mounting frustration showing on his face. “Hey, could you stop being all weird and vague and just tell us what you’re talking about already?”

Baihumon looked at Taichi, then the other Chosen, before returning his attention to the Chosen of Courage. He let out a low rumbling in his chest as he seemed to mull over his options, his ears still canted back. Finally, after several moments of tense silence, he gave a swift shake of his head. “Very well.” He straightened up to his full impressive height, reminding the children of just how vast the difference in size between them truly was. “I need your assistance, Chosen Children… in rescuing Ryo Akiyama.”

The Digimon’s words had a ripple effect through the Chosen Children, who gawked at Baihumon as his words slowly filtered in, which quickly gave way to an explosion of chatter. They all spoke at one, blurting out the same questions - albeit phrased differently in their own ways - as confusion ran rampant among them.

“ _What_!?”

“Ryo!?”

“Isn’t he a prisoner of Zeed Millenniumon right now?!”

“Are you serious!?”

“Why would that even be a question!?” Yamato demanded as he stepped forward, gesturing to the others. “Of _course_ we’d want to-”

“It involves sending you into the pits of hell,” Baihumon said, his voice sharp as it cut off Yamato. “Into the depths of the Dark Ocean, to snatch him from the claws of Zeed Millenniumon himself.”

A terrible chill ran up Hikari’s spine at Baihumon’s words, and the memory of her last dream of the Dark World came back with frightening clarity. Animal instinct suddenly reared up, digging its icy claws into her back as it shrieked inside her head not to go; as horrible as it was to see the Dark Ocean in her dreams, she knew with absolute certainty that it would be far worse in reality to visit the realm Keiko warned her never to go.

Despite the fear clawing at her mind, she forced herself to straighten up, her body faintly quaking with tension, as she tried to keep her focus on what was important, no matter how much a primal part of her screamed for retreat. “That… that’s right,” Hikari said with only a minor tremble in her voice. “Narakumon told me, he banished Zeed Millenniumon to the Dark Ocean…” Her voice dropped to just above a whisper. “And Ryo too. He didn’t realize Millenniumon had captured him, and…” She trailed off with a shudder, her mind instinctively recoiling from the fate of any child dragged down into the depths of the Dark Ocean. She knew what awaited in that sea of madness; her worst nightmares had shown her with all too perfect clarity.

The other Chosen Children went completely silent, alternating between staring at Baihumon and each other, especially Hikari. The Holy Beast watched the children as the smoldering fire turned to a flicker, his expression grave.

“You understand my hesitation,” Baihumon said.

“He wants us… to _fight_ Zeed Millenniumon… in the Dark Ocean...?” Iori said, his voice weak. Visions of Imperialdramon, whose power was just a _shadow_ of what Zeed was capable of, flickered through his mind.

Sensing Iori’s thoughts, Kyokyomon squirmed aggressively in his partner’s arms. “I’ll do it! I’ll fight him for you, I-o-ri!”

Iori didn’t respond verbally, though his tightening grip on his partner communicated his thoughts loud and clear.

“Zhuqiaomon is convinced that you would not need to,” Baihumon said, slowly. “He says he has devised a program using the Crest of Miracles to both repel Zeed temporarily and lead you to Ryo.” His ears canted back as his expression contorted into something ugly. “But that would mean trusting your lives to that conviction.”

Sora swallowed hard, but found she couldn’t alleviate the dry lump that had formed in her throat. “Is there… is there no other way?”

“I would like to think so,” Baihumon said. “Zhuqiaomon does not believe there is. And if there was, he does not believe we have the time to find it. And I cannot entirely disagree with that notion.”

“You… don’t have the time?” Takeru asked. It then clicked in his head what Baihumon was referring to. “Because Ryo’s with Zeed, right? And we don’t know what Zeed is doing to him?”

Baihumon hesitated before he lifted his gaze to Takeru. “Something has happened to Narakumon.”

“What?” Hikari’s voice was quiet, as her chill ran to her very core.

“The Dark Ocean is running wild within the Dark World with no sign of Narakumon attempting to suppress its influence - a fact that Zhuqiaomon had the misfortune of discovering,” Baihumon said. “He told me that he had already attempted to rescue Ryo, sending his Devas to the Dark World with the Crest of Miracles.”

“And the fact that we’re now having this conversation means that their mission didn’t go well,” Miyako said as she adjusted her glasses. “Am I right?”

“Their deaths were unpleasant,” Baihumon said, his expression dark. “And their current fates, even moreso.”

Hikari shuddered at the implications and held YukimiBotamon closer.

Sora stared at Baihumon, her face going pale. She glanced at Piyomon instinctively, whose determined expression did little to resolve her nerves. “And you want _us_ to go?”

“You are the only ones who _can_ ,” Baihumon replied. “The only ones who have a chance of succeeding.” He gave a shake of his head. “Not only are your powers - your _potential_ \- beyond what we are capable of… but three of you are an anathema to the Dark Ocean itself, the only ones able to hold it at bay without fear.”

“Darkness,” Hikari whispered before her voice raised in volume. “The only thing that can stand up to the Dark Ocean is the power of Darkness.”

“Precisely,” Baihumon said before his eyes flickered to Yamato, Sora, and Miyako in turn. “Without Darkness, we will never rescue Ryo.”

“So, what you’re saying is… you need us ‘Darkness’ Chosen to go to the Dark Ocean,” Yamato said as he quirked an eyebrow. “Because we’re the only ones it’s afraid of?”

Baihumon gave a solemn nod.

Yamato closed his eyes as he clenched his fists, a slight tremor running up his spine. After a moment, he opened his eyes to stare hard at Baihumon. “You said that we don’t have to _fight_ Zeed, just snatch Ryo and run… right?”

“If Zhuqiaomon is to be believed,” Baihumon grunted.

The Chosen of Friendship narrowed his eyes before he straightened up. “Fine. I’ll do it.” He ignored the way Takeru whirled to stare at him, eyebrows shooting straight up. “If that’s what it takes, if my ‘Darkness’ can actually help someone instead of just cause trouble for everyone… then I’ll do it. I’ll help save Ryo.”

“We can’t just leave Ryo like that,” Gabumon said with a solemn nod. “Besides, we have a plan. If anything, we just have to put our faith in each other.”

“So basically put our faith in our abilities to handle whatever comes at us,” Miyako said as she put her hands on her hips. “And not in someone that Ken was convinced wanted us dead.”

“I-I’ll… I’ll help,” Sora said as she turned to Yamato, placing her hand over her chest. She was shaking badly at the idea, but seeing Yamato volunteer made her find her own courage as well. “We’ve got to save him. There’s no way we can just sit this out while he’s trapped in that awful place, with that awful creature.”

“Don’t worry, Sora~!” Piyomon chirped. “I’ll protect you! We’ll definitely rescue Ryo!”

“I think it goes without saying I’m in too,” Miyako said with a wry smile. “I’m just itching to see what our trait-based powers can do.”

“Besides,” Pafumon said cheerfully, “if we _don’t_ go, you’re all screwed!”

“I’m going too,” Hikari said, the words tumbling from her mouth before the implications behind them hit her like a sledgehammer. Despite herself, fear came crashing in with the knowledge that she was going to the place where her worst nightmares lay screaming, calling out to _her_ to consume her.

“Absolutely not,” Taichi said swiftly, in a tone that refused argument.

Hikari’s expression hardened, as did her voice. “I’m going.”

“Didn’t you hear him? They need _Darkness_ , and you’re _Light_!” Taichi said as he threw his arm towards Yamato and Sora before using it to sweepingly gesture at Hikari. “If that whole rock-paper-scissors deal is right, then if Darkness is strong against the Dark Ocean, Light is the weakest. And the Dark Ocean tried for _months_ to get you while you slept! You’re absolutely the one person who _shouldn’t_ -”

“The Digimental of Darkness,” YukimiBotamon said, her voice like steel. “I can use it to protect Hikari.”

“You stay out of this!” Taichi snapped, thrusting a finger in YukimiBotamon’s direction. “The whole idea is _crazy_ -”

“I greatly share Courage’s misgivings,” Baihumon said, his rumbling voice cutting off the protest. “But I will admit that your plan is a sound one.” He ignored how Taichi turned to glare at him, focusing on Hikari and YukimiBotamon. “The Digimental of Darkness should theoretically transform your Light into Darkness. It would gain power from the Dark World, thriving in its home environment much like it would at its altar, allowing you to maintain your new form without depleting its charge. It would protect you from the Dark Ocean, in addition to allowing your partner to feed off of it - replacing the power she lost due to her sacrifice.”

YukimiBotamon’s eyes lit up at the prospect of evolution. “That sounds like all the more reason for us to use it.”

“Besides,” Hikari said, trying to keep her voice even in spite of the tremor she felt inside, “I’m the only one who knows what to expect when we go there.”

“Yes,” Taichi said, with no small amount of heat, “because you’ve had plenty of experience with it _trying to attack you in your dreams_!”

“Which was prevented, thanks to the Digimental of Darkness,” YukimiBotamon retorted.

Taichi stared at YukimiBotamon for a long moment, a war of emotions playing across his face. Eventually, he slumped and released his anger in a weary sigh. “I’m not going to win this, am I?”

“No, sorry, big brother,” Hikari said with a faint smile before she reached out to place a placating hand on Taichi’s arm. “I promise, I’ll be careful.”

“It’s okay, Taichi,” Sora said as she went to the boy’s side, reaching over to take his hand and clasp it with both of hers. “I’ll be there.”

Taichi gave Sora a small, but grateful smile. “Thanks, Sora…”

“That’s right. We’ll definitely watch over her,” Yamato said as he moved to clasp Taichi’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He turned to Takeru, offering him a smile. “So _neither_ of you should worry.”

Takeru’s face twisted with his complicated feelings, creating an unhappy expression on his face. “I don’t recall saying _I_ wasn’t going, too.”

Yamato’s cheek gave a slight twitch as he tried to keep his smile as he met Takeru’s challenging stare with one of his own. “Well, you’re not.”

“I agree with Yamato,” Koshiro said, rubbing his chin as he considered the situation. “Although theoretically using other Darkness-aligned Digimentals might offer protection for Takeru, Iori, Taichi and… uh, Ken…” He paused for a moment from a fleeting feeling of awkwardness before he plowed ahead. “I’m not sure it’ll be as much protection as Darkness…” He paused, brow furrowing. “Although, Hikari _is_ the most vulnerable of the Light-aligned Chosen because her crest is Light itself, so maybe…”

“Exactly,” Takeru said triumphantly, holding his brother’s gaze. “If I evolve Patamon with Pride, Passion, Love, or even Friendship… it should work. It might not be as strong as Darkness itself, but it’s still a guardian crest.”

Yamato only broke the staring contest briefly to glare at Koshiro before he went back to frowning at his stubborn little brother in disapproval.

Miyako turned to Baihumon. “So, what say you, Baihumon? Will using Darkness Digimental armor be enough to bring a few more of us in?”

Baihumon let out a thoughtful hum as his gaze turned inward. “I admit, I had not considered it… but the theory is sound. At the very least, it would provide protection against its influence. I would strongly recommend that only Love, Friendship, and Passion act as vanguards for what you may face… but the Digimentals aligned with Darkness should act as literal armor against its influence, with the strongest of them - Darkness itself - shielding Light.”

“Good,” Taichi said, straightening up, muscles rigid. “Then I’m going too. Someone give me a Digimental.”

“What about us?” Daisuke asked, stepping forward. “Is Miracles okay to go too?”

“You are neither weak nor strong to the Dark Ocean,” Baihumon said. “It is not afraid of you, but it is not keenly interested in you, either.”

Daisuke paused at that, a perplexed expression creasing his face. “Interested?”

“It last little interest in devouring you,” Baihumon said. “And will only target you with its typical hatred for all that lives.”

Hikari shuddered.

“Yeaaah, I can see that as an advantage over Light,” Pafumon said. “You’re not a tasty morsel to gobble, so it’ll be less sniffing around like a predator.”

“So it’s just a regular enemy to us, then,” Gomamon said, then paused. “A ravenous, deranged, hungry enemy.”

Miyako let out a quiet hum as she looked over at her friends. “Well, since we’ve got four Darkness Digimentals free and only three of us who need to get one, one of the Miracles team could use the last one just in case.”

“I’ll take it!” Mimi said a little louder than she intended as her arm thrust into the air. At seeing the looks some of her friends gave her, her cheeks tinted before puffing out. “What? It’s going to be scary in there, so I’ll feel better if Palmon is even scarier than the Dark Ocean.”

“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect Mimi,” Palmon said with a nod.

“I’m fine with that,” V-mon said, crossing his arms over a chest puffed out with stubborn pride. “I can protect Daisuke without a Digimental!”

Tentomon nodded. “As long as we’re cautious and stick together, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Works for me,” Gomamon said as he flashed Jou a grin, which widened as the Chosen of Honesty jerked slightly and stared sheepishly down at him. “I definitely have the advantage in the ocean, after all.”

“ _No!_ ” Hikari all but screamed, her eyes wide and wild as the color drained from her face. “Don’t even think about touching the Dark Ocean! Not even a drop! It’ll take you and… and…!” The rest of her warning dissolved into a gagged series of syllables muffled by her hand clasped over her mouth as she all too clearly remembered her fate in her dreams whenever the Dark Ocean caught her.

“Hikari…” Takeru murmured as he stared at the Chosen of Light, at a loss.

“It has hands… so many hands to grab you… to pull you in and drown you,” Hikari finally managed hoarsely, the words coming out in sickly bursts. “And it’s… _screaming_ …!” She trailed off again, startled into silence by the light touch on her shoulder. At seeing Takeru’s worried face as he drew in close to her, she managed a feeble smile that looked ready to break apart at any moment.

“I agree. Swimming in the Dark Ocean should be avoided, even by those of Darkness,” Baihumon said, firmly.

Gomamon felt a bead of sweat trickle down the back of his head. He had never had a silly quip belly-flop quite so badly before; it left him at a complete loss. “Noted.”

“Hikari,” YukimiBotamon said, softly. She suddenly found herself doubting if this was something she should be encouraging her partner to do. She understood Hikari’s desire, but she also knew that what awaited them would put her partner’s dreams to shame. “Are you sure you’re up to doing this? I won’t force you.”

Hikari shook her head, trying to rally herself. She forced herself to think of what she was fighting for, _who_ she needed to save who were trapped in the Dark World. It wasn’t just Ryo who she wanted to find there, but Keiko as well. This would be the first time she could see the Chosen of Darkness in person, and it had been too long since Keiko had contact her; she worried if the other girl was alright. “I’m going.” Her voice came out a bit gruff, but it was steady. “No matter what, I need to go.”

YukimiBotamon stared at Hikari, her expression serious, before it softened. “I understand. But promise me that, if it ever becomes too much, you will tell me - immediately.”

"Chosen of Light," Baihumon said, his voice cutting in to the conversation and drawing both Hikari's and YukimiBotamon’s attention to him. He met her with a stare, one that was more felt than seen. "That answer is not good enough."

Hikari's eyes widened as she stared at the Holy Beast, stunned. "What?"

YukimiBotamon bristled up. "Just what are you-!?"

"We speak.of going to the land of the damned, the land of nightmares, a land that is the Digital personification of _Hell_ ," Baihumon cut off the smaller Digimon, his voice authoritative. "A fact that you clearly know all too well. If the mere _thought_ of such a place brings such terror within you, even as you stand where it cannot touch you, how will you fare when you are actually _within grasp_?"

Hikari faltered at that as her grip tightened on her partner.

"What will you do?" Baihumon asked. "Suppose you hesitate then, what do you think will happen? And what would happen to those that would leap to your defense?" His stare intensified as he stepped forward, looming over the Chosen of Light. “This is no game, there is no room for liabilities on the battlefield. If it was just your own life at risk, then it is your business alone. But what of those that are depending on you? What of those that would give their own lives to protect yours?”

“I…” Hikari began as she struggled for a response.

“I will _not_ send one Chosen Child to die for the sake of another,” Baihumon growled, his voice rumbling. “If you cannot convince me that I would not be sending you on a suicide mission, then this entire conversation has been a waste of time.”

YukimiBotamon’s ears canted back as she glared at Baihumon. “Don’t you think you’re being harsh with her?!”

“Sparing her feelings won’t mean anything if she’s _dead_ ,” Baihumon retorted. “Or if someone _else_ dies due to her own actions.”

“Now wait just a minute-!” YukimiBotamon began as her fur puffed up all over her body. She was cut off, however, when Hikari’s grip tightened around her. The small Digimon blinked and glanced up to her partner. “Hikari?”

“It’s alright, YukimiBotamon,” Hikari said, with a shake of her head. “I understand what he’s saying.” She lifted her head to meet Baihumon’s expectant gaze. “I have an obligation to look after myself… and not do anything reckless. I need to recognize my own limitations.”

“You are not simply Hikari Yamagi,” Baihumon said. “You are the Chosen of Light.”

“And it’s _because_ I’m a Chosen Child that I have to go,” Hikari said, her face becoming a mask of grim determination. “I have to do what I can to help Ryo. And I’m not going to just run away. I’m not going to let the Dark Ocean rule my life!”

Baihumon held Hikari’s gaze for a long moment, neither of them wavering. Silence lingered as everyone waited with baited breath before the massive Holy Beast finally let out a heavy sigh through his nose.

“Very well,” Baihumon said slowly. As Hikari’s eyes widened, the tiger Digimon closed his. “You’ve given me much greater confidence in your success than I had at the start. It could be that I am far more weak of heart than I realized. Or that’s simply more evidence of how incredible your potential is.” He then gave a sharp nod of his head. “You’ve convinced me.”

“Baihumon...” Hikari said as she felt a surge of relief at the Holy Beast’s apparently approval.

“However,” the Holy Beast said as he opened his eyes to focus on Hikari once more. “I do have… one more selfish request, in addition to the one we have already imposed on you. Will you first venture in to the Temple of Darkness and see how fares Narakumon? This is my _personal_ request, and one that Zhuqiaomon would want no part in… so only my thanks will be forthcoming.”

Hikari nodded, the tense knot in her shoulders loosening just a little at the prospect when compared to confronting the Dark Ocean. “Of course. I wanted to see Narakumon when we get there before doing anything else anyway. The Dark World is _his_ part of the Digital World after all, and his temple is the safest place there.” She paused for a moment. “Plus… we’ll probably find Keiko and Nyamon there too.”

“If you do, that would be a great boon,” Baihumon said. “I will tell Zhuqiaomon that we are in agreement, and to send his agent to meet up with you and take you to the Dark World.”

Jou rubbed the back of his neck, which prickled uneasily from the prospect of injecting himself to the conversation. “So, uh, how do we get there?” he finally asked, feeling his unease only grow when Baihumon turned that piercing too-many-eyed gaze upon him. “I mean, it’s not exactly a place we can just _walk_ to, so…”

“On the contrary,” Baihumon said. “There is an entrance to the Dark World, where the Dark Ocean dwells.”

“Wait, what!?” Taichi blurted out as he gave a start. “Are you _serious_!?”

“Is it… wise to have an entrance to such a dangerous place?” Iori asked, slowly.

“It was not always dangerous.” Baihumon said. “It _became_ dangerous.”

“But where is it?” Koshiro asked before hastily pulling out his laptop. “I’ve never seen it in any of my scans!”

“You would not find this location in any of your scans,” Baihumon said. “It was specifically designed to be invisible to eyes not meant to find it.”

“That’s convenient,” Miyako drawled as her eyes drifted towards the sky. “So the door to the Dark World was left wide open instead of sealed off forever? Hope it’s at least in a place that’s too much of a pain to travel to so some poor sap wouldn’t accidentally fall in and never come back out again.”

“The Dark World belongs to Narakumon,” Hikari said as she glanced at Miyako with furrowed brow. “It’d be unfair to him to seal his part of the Digital World off forever over something that isn’t his fault.”

Miyako considered the remark before shrugging. “Fair point. But I hope they at least locked the door.”

“There are those that would disagree with you, Chosen of Light,” Baihumon said in an ominous rumble. “Those who fear Darkness and would prefer it destroyed entirely. They are fools, but they exist.” He then turned to Miyako. “The door is, indeed, locked to only those of sufficient rank. The DigiGods, the Holy Beasts, our Devas, those we have specifically chosen with our blessings… and you, the Chosen Children.”

Yamato crossed his arms. “Well, that works for us! So, where are we supposed to go?”

“You will be going to where Ryo Akiyama, Keiko Ryuzaki, and Ken Ichijouji spent most of their formative years. It is where they lived when they were in Digital World, when they were not traveling about in pursuit of Zeed Millenniumon and his minions,” Baihumon said, solemnly. “It is called the Crystal Tower.”

\----

“This is… absolutely incredible,” Koshiro gasped out, staring in awe at the sight before him and the rest of the Chosen. “How could I not have found this place on any of my scanners?!”

True to its name, the Crystal Tower was a tower made of splendid crystalline material, glittering like a prism as it stretched high above. While the Chosen could see windows and balconies along the tower’s sides, the one thing the children _couldn’t_ see was the top as it disappeared into the clouds.

“Yeah, you’d… think this place would stick out like a sore thumb,” Yamato said as he craned his head, staring upwards without much success.

“I certainly can’t see the benefit of such a structure,” Iori said as he squinted. “It is impossible to miss such a glistening tower.”

“I bet that’s it,” Miyako said as she adjusted her glasses. “It’s like a prism reflecting light.” She glanced at her partner to give Pafumon a smirk. “Clever.”

“ _Dazzlingly_ clever!” Pafumon agreed.

“It’s so _pretty_ ,” Sora murmured, eyes wide.

“It’s like a giant diamond!” Mimi agreed as she clapped her hands together. “Ken got to live _here_!? I’m so jealous!”

“I think that depends on if the inside is as, uh… sparkly as the outside,” Yamato said as he quirked a smile. He couldn’t imagine living in a place that looked so gaudy _all the time_. “Shall we take a look inside?”

The Chosen Children headed closer to the tower, which glistened invitingly in the sun at them. It didn’t take long to get close to the titanic structure, up to the large entrance Baihumon had told them about. Unfortunately, there appeared to be a detail about the door that the Holy Beast _didn’t_ tell them about.

Namely, that it was _on fire_.

Takeru stared at the massive metal doors, the only part of the structure that _wasn’t_ crystal. And yet despite being made of non-flammable substance, it did in fact appear to be aflame - thick red fire covered every inch of it, dancing about as it dared the children to try and touch it. “It… doesn’t look like it’s melting, but…”

Miyako looked around until she spotted a stick, which she hurled at the wall of flame. As expected, the stick caught fire immediately and dissolved to ash then data within seconds. “Yup. Firewalls here are deadly. Figures.”

“W-wait, so it’s… literally a firewall!?” Jou blurted out. “Isn’t that just supposed to be for internet security!?”

Koshiro ran his fingers through his hair. “This is not how firewalls are supposed to work. At all.”

“It’s the Digital World,” Miyako said, with a shrug.

“Baihumon never said anything about a firewall,” Sora said as she frowned. “He even said that Zhuqiaomon’s Devas came this way!”

“That would imply that he did not know about it,” Iori said. “Which means…”

“Someone put it here recently,” Taichi finished, eyes narrowing. “So either Zooqueaiomon locked the door behind him, or Ken set this up to keep him from trying again.”

“That doesn’t make sense!” Hikari said. “Ken wouldn’t try to stop Ryo from being saved!”

“Except by someone who might kill him,” Daisuke said. He flinched, feeling Hikari’s gaze upon him, but he didn’t dare look to see what kind of expression she wore. “I-I don’t mean Ken would kill Ryo! I-I mean Ken freaked out at Miyako going near Zue… Zooku… Xiuquail… ugh, _that guy_ , so he probably freaked out the same way about him going near Ryo.” He paused, frowning. “Even if, ya know, Ryo is in the Dark Ocean and Zeed Millenniumon’s got him, Ken’s not exactly… well.”

“Daisuke…” Hikari whispered, taken aback by the sharply different stance Daisuke had towards Ken now. Her eyes darted to Taichi who was too focused on Daisuke to notice, and she saw the wan smile her brother wore, as well as the hint of pride in his eyes.

“That’s got to be it,” Takeru said, his eyes widening as realization dawned. He turned to smile at Daisuke, brightly. “You’re absolutely right, Daisuke! It makes perfect sense! He saw Zhuqiaomon’s Devas go to the Dark World and assumed they were trying to kill Ryo, not save him! He certainly wasn’t willing to give Zhuqiaomon the benefit of the doubt when it came to Miyako, and that was _before_ the Devas exposed him and then tried to kill him at the Battlefield Memorial!”

Koshiro sat down with legs crossed before pulling his laptop out of his bag. “Which means if we want in, we’ll need to undo his code. Just give me a few minutes to find it, and I’ll see what I can do…”

Hikari looked from Koshiro back to the wall of fire as a prickling feeling brought her mind back to Ken. “We… we should go back to the Digimon Kaiser fortress.”

“What?!” Mimi blurted out, gawking at Hikari. “Why? You know what happened last time! Ken’s Digimon will just throw _poop_ on us again!” She shuddered at the memory and hugged herself.

Hikari shook her head. “I know, but Ken made this firewall. If we tell him that we want to go to the Dark World because we have a plan to save Ryo, I’m sure he’ll help us.” There was also a chance he might finally want to talk to them again, she silently added to herself.

Taichi sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing as he remembered how long it took him to wash the crap out of it from last time. “If we can actually get to him this time.”

“It would still be a good idea to try,” Iori said. “As Ken’s code has proven… difficult to deal with in the past. If we are very unlucky, he could have deleted the code for opening the door - like he did the Village of Beginnings.”

Mimi groaned as she held her head. “Why can’t we just email Ken about this?” she asked rhetorically with a whine at the edge of her voice. “If he’d just _talk_ to us already, it would save us all a lot of trouble!”

“Just stay here with us,” Miyako said from her position knelt on the grass beside Koshiro, her eyes glued to the screen as endless strings of code flew by. “We need someone to watch our backs just in case while the rest of you are gone, and Palmon can go Ultimate.”

Instantly, the gloomy cloud over Mimi evaporated into sunshine as her eyes lit up. “Yes! You’re brilliant, Miyako-chan~! Palmon and I will stay here to protect you and Koshiro!”

Palmon couldn’t help but facefault, if only slightly. Mimi was so transparent, it was so obvious why she was actually agreeing to stay. However, she couldn’t really blame her partner, as she certainly wasn’t keen on a second round of feces. “That’s… that’s right. I won’t let anyone bother you.”

Taichi made a sound that was a mixture of a sigh and a grumble as he looked from the enthusiastic Mimi to a disgruntled Yamato. “I’m guessing that means we’re on poop defense duty.”

“Great,” Yamato said with a chuckle. “Just what I wanted, on top of everything else.”

“It… it’ll be fine, Yamato,” Gabumon said, hesitantly. He wasn’t about to back down, but visions of even more hours of scrubbing his fur hide in the bath did little to give him courage.

Agumon tried to hide his grimace and failed spectacularly as he stuck out his tongue. “Ugh. Those Kaiser Digimon fight dirty.”

“I’ll… stay behind with Mimi,” Jou said. He jerked before quickly raising his hands, as if to head off any commentary. “It’s not because of the poop! I promise!”

“Well, the poop’s kind of a big deal,” Gomamon said with a wry smile.

“Well, I can’t deny that, but…,” Jou admitted before his expression grew solemn. “I can’t get it out of my head. The way Ken was so terrified of Zhuqiaomon, so convinced that he was dangerous… the fact that Zhuqiaomon wouldn’t talk to us directly and had to get Baihumon involved, and that he apparently refused to help us against Armagemon...” For a moment he hesitated to continue, as his gaze dropped to the blades of grass he crumpled underneath his shuffling feet. “I can’t help but think that _he’s_ the one we should be most worried about. Ken is erratic, but… he thinks he’s doing the right thing, even if it’s completely wrong.” He forced himself to raise his head so that he could offer the others a weak smile. “I’d feel better standing guard.”

Gomamon’s expression softened before he nodded. “Especially when it seems the worst we have to worry about from Ken is having poop thrown at us.”

“C-can we stop talking about the poop already!?” Mimi demanded.

“No arguments here,” Taichi said before sticking out his tongue in disgust.

Hikari furrowed her brow as she considered who Ken might upset Ken the least. “It might be best if-”

“I’ll stay too,” Daisuke said as he sat down on the ground, legs crossed. He opened his mouth to say more, only to falter and shut it again with a click of his teeth. Instead, he placed his hands on his knees and focused on the dancing wall of flames.

V-mon drooped before he flopped down beside Daisuke, close to his partner. “Daisuke…”

Daisuke reached out to pat V-mon on the head as he faked a smile and an even tone. “It’s fine, V-mon,” he said quietly. “Maybe things will actually go right with Ken this time if I’m not there.”

Hikari felt a twist of guilt in her gut as she overheard the words he hadn’t meant for her to hear. Instinctively, she wanted to reassure Daisuke, to say something kind to make him feel better, but the words wouldn’t come. Even now, a tiny ball of anger still whispered spite in her ear, telling her that what he said was nothing but the absolute truth. Until she could erase that part of her that still held onto her resentment, she didn’t trust talking with her friend on such a sensitive issue, so she turned away instead and tried to focus on what they needed to do to save Ken and Ryo.

Taichi walked over to Daisuke and placed a hand on the younger boy’s head, ruffling that wild brown mane and displacing the goggles he had gifted Daisuke. “We’ll take care of Ken for ya, Daisuke. Just watch out for trouble around here for now.”

Daisuke took a moment to readjust his goggles back to their proper resting place on his brow before nodding slightly. It took him a moment more before he could reply in a faintly rough tone. “Right, Senpai.”

“I think it’s best if it’s a small group, anyway,” Sora said. “That way, Ken won’t feel intimidated by everyone… and feel like we’re confronting him.”

Taichi looked at Sora thoughtfully and nodded. “Yeah. Hikari’s going to be doing most of the talking anyway.” He shot his sister a lopsided smile. “Right?”

Hikari breathed deep and straightened up, forcing herself to push her conflicting feelings into the back of her mind. She nodded, her mouth set in a grim but determined line. “We have to be as kind with Ken as we can, or he’ll get worse.”

“We should gate in _near_ the fortress,” Takeru said as he glanced over to his brother. “And then sneak in. That might work out better than just randomly appearing in front of everyone again.”

Yamato raised a skeptical eyebrow at his little brother. “I don’t remember anyone saying you were going with us.”

Takeru flashed his brother a smile. “I just assumed it went without saying.”

“I think Takeru should come too,” Hikari said before her red eyes met his bright blue ones. “You’re the only one who really… _really_ understands what it’s like for the Dark Ocean to… taint you. And what it feels like after it’s been purged.”

Takeru’s smile faltered for a moment before his expression grew solemn. “Yeah. I think I can understand his headspace, at least a little, thanks to that.”

Hikari drew closer to Takeru and placed a hand tentatively on his wrist, a silent apology in her eyes for reminding him of something so painful. “I’d also feel a lot better if you were there with me when I finally talk to Ken again.”

Takeru’s smile returned as he offered it to Hikari, even if it struggled to reach his eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

Yamato watched Hikari and Takeru for a moment before he let out a heavy sigh, looking skyward. “Well, I guess that settles it.”

“It does,” YukimiBotamon said, firmly. She then smiled up at her partner. “We’ll hit this problem on all angles, and see what works first.”

“Right,” Yamato said before he turned to Koshiro. “Let us know if you manage to get anywhere. We’ll put our DT2s on silent, but will keep an eye out.”

Taichi stepped closer to Sora and dropped his voice low near her ear. “Keep an eye on Daisuke for me, would ya? We had a talk last night about Ken, and he’s pretty much kicking himself right now over everything that happened between them.”

“I will,” Sora said as she gave a firm nod, her voice soft and yet filled with determination. “I’ll look after him.”

“Thanks,” Taichi said, flashing her a smile. He paused for a moment, glancing around at the others, before he gave Sora a hug, his cheeks pinking. “Watch out for crazy Digimon attacks too, okay?”

Sora’s own cheeks pinked as well. She hesitated before deciding to go with her impulse, leaning up to give the Chosen of Courage a small peck on the cheek. “You do the same, okay?”

Taichi’s blush turned a vivid shade of scarlet as his hand went to his cheek where Sora kissed him. With a goofy grin growing on his face he nodded, lingering with his arms around her a moment longer before finally pulling away.

He barely took two unsteady steps before he noticed Yamato grinning at him while waggling eyebrows. His smile instantly skewed up into an embarrassed scowl as the red in his face reached all the way to his ears. “Sh-shut up!”

Yamato looked away, but his grin widened. “Anyway, is everyone ready?”

Hikari nodded, her muscles faintly tense. “Yes. Let’s go talk to Ken.”

\---

The crowd was massive, Digimon spilling out in all directions as they overflowed the castle. The assembled Chosen had never seen so many Digimon in one place before, and certainly weren’t expecting to see so many at the lair of the Digimon Kaiser. Even though they had gated a good distance away, it was still almost too close, putting them just barely out of sight of the gathering.

To further compound their confusion, the gathering seemed more like a festival than an army preparing for war. Decorations and stalls with games and food vendors lined the street, filling the air with the sweet sound of laughter and tantalizing aromas. Tyrian purple banners of the Digimon Kaiser swayed on poles overhead, matching the black bands that the Digimon all wore. Digimon of all shapes and stages of evolution skittered about excitedly, barely containing themselves as they visited concession stands and attempted to win plush prizes. Bafflingly, dolls of of the Digimon Kaiser himself seemed to be the most sought after of all.

Taichi crouched low behind an outcropping of rocks and gestured for the rest of the group to join him before they were spotted. As the others got into concealed positions beside him, he pulled out the retractable telescope from his pocket and began surveying the area. “Okay,” he whispered. “If they’re partying, they’re distracted, so that means sloppy guards not looking at every way inside…”

“Right,” Yamato agreed quietly as he crouched by Taichi. “But what are they even doing, and with so many Digimon? Why would they have a festival at a _Digimon Kaiser stronghold_?”

Taichi shrugged, but didn’t stop scrying through the telescope. “Who knows? Maybe they’re partying because Ken conquered someplace new, or because he’s not using the Evil Rings anymore to brainwash them.”

Takeru made a noise in his throat as he peered over the rock as well. “If we’re _lucky_ , that’s all it is...”

“Why don’t we go in and ask them?” Agumon asked as he looked to his partner. “There’s so many Digimon, no one’d question us at all!”

“That’s a good idea,” Hikari whispered. “It worked really well last time when Tailmon and the others pretended to be under Ken’s control.”

Taichi let out a frustrated huff of air as he lowered his telescope. “Yeah, that’s probably going to work out better for us getting in. It’s so crowded, I don’t see any way in where there aren’t at least three Digimon goofing around.”

“We’ll just act like we don’t know anything,” Gabumon said. “They might talk to us.”

“Just be careful,” Takeru said as he glanced at his partner, prompting Patamon to give him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry,” Patamon said. “We’ll be right back!”

“I’ll stay with Hikari,” YukimiBotamon said. “If you end up needing to run, I would just hold you back.”

Patamon nodded. “Okay. Watch out for Takeru for me.”

“Of course,” YukimiBotamon replied, without hesitation.

The three Child-form Digimon cautiously ventured towards the crowd, their movements tentative and wary depending on how the first contact went. However, the other Digimon gave the Chosen partners barely more than a passing glance, as one would give any other festival goer. In fact, after the initial glances, the crowd paid the trio no mind as they were far more concerned with the dozens of stalls. Food of all sorts, flashy games, and what appeared to be merchandise was far more interesting than the stumbling newcomers.

After a moment of staring around the festival grounds in confusion, Agumon finally got the courage to turn his attention to a nearby Gizamon that was passing him by. “Hey, uh, what’s going on?”

The orange furred frog-like Digimon stopped, all four feet halting at once, before he turned to fix Agumon with an incredulous stare. “What are you, stupid? Don’t you _know_?”

“Er, um,” Gabumon fidgeted as he drew closer to Agumon. “We’re not from around here, so… not really.”

“We heard all the commotion and came to see what’s going on!” Patamon added, helpfully. “Is it a party?”

The Gizamon glanced at the three, narrowing his eyes, before he let out a huff. “A bunch of _yokels_ , then.”

“Hey now, heeey now, it’s all good, isn’t it?” a Psychemon asked jovially as hewandered over, who looked to be a spitting image of Gabumon with a palette swap. Instead of yellow skin with a light blue fur with purple stripes, the new Digimon had bright magenta skin with white fur sporting violent stripes. “The Digimon Kaiser welcomes everyone, _even_ the yokels! That just means it’s up to us to educate them!”

The Gizamon went quiet at that before he grunted and began to walk away in defeat.

“Welcome, then!” Psychemon said as he turned to the trio, though he seemed more focused on Gabumon as he flashed the similar Digimon a bright grin. “You’ve come at a great time! Let’s get you some bands and I’ll explain what’s going on!”

Agumon looked from Gabumon to Psychemon and back again before finally remembering to smile back at Psychemon, though it was lopsided and nervous at the thought of getting another black band slapped around him. “Oh, uh, we don’t wa… I-I mean, b-bands?”

“Yep~!” Psychemon chirped before he lifted his arm to show off the black band around his arm. “Just like this one~!”

Agumon focused on the band, relieved to see that these new ones with the purple Pride symbol on them were still made of cloth. Still, he tried to play it cool even as nervous drops of sweat trickled down the back of his head. “Oh, uh, aren’t those the ‘Evil Rings’ that control Digimon? I heard the Digimon Kaiser used to force them on every Digimon he caught and make them his slaves.”

“Oh, that was a long time ago,” Psychemon said with a wave of his hand. “They don’t do _that_ anymore. Instead, it’s just to show solidarity with the Digimon Kaiser in his efforts to create a utopia for all Digimon.”

“A… utopia?” Gabumon repeated, slowly.

“You’ll hear _aaaall_ about it soon enough, once the Digimon Kaiser comes out to give his speech,” Psychemon replied before his eyes began to shimmer. “I could never explain it the way _he_ can. He’s just so _amazing_!”

Patamon plastered on a cheerful smile that would make Takeru proud. “You seem to like the Digimon Kaiser a lot. He must not be as bad a guy like the rumors said.”

“Definitely not!” Psychemon agreed before he positively beamed. “You’re in for a _real_ treat! You all won’t regret coming out today!”

Patamon visibly brightened. “Glad to hear it. I can’t wait to see the Digimon Kaiser for myself.”

“So, uh, is that why all _this_ is going on?” Gabumon asked as he touched his claws against his chin. “Why is he here any-”

Psychemon latched on to Gabumon’s arm and all but began to drag him through the crowd, off to the side. “Now, let’s get you in some bands, right quick! And then we can answer aaaaall your questions afterwards. Though I’m sure that once you hear him for yourselves, you’ll have every answer you need!”

Agumon and Patamon glanced at each other before they hurried after Psychemon and Gabumon, weaving through the crowd. It was a short trip before they found themselves in front of a large table covered in black bands of all shapes and sizes

A Goblimon was manning the table, handing out bands to everyone that approached. When Psychemon approached with his three guests, Goblimon spent barely a glance at the trio before he grabbed three child-sized arm bands and handed them wordlessly to the eager Digimon.

“Here you go~! One, two, and three!” Psychemon said as he handed the cloth to the Chosen partners. “Just put it wherever you feel most comfortable wearing it!”

Agumon made a face but accepted the band anyway. He was smart enough to know not to vocalize that he wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing it _at all_ , as Taichi was counting on him to get information - not start a fight. He glanced at the others to see them putting on the bands and proceeded to do so himself, doing his best to ignore the intense feeling of discomfort and how it reminded him of when he was forced to wear the Evil Ring.

“I’m sure you’ve _very_ familiar with the typical squabbles between the Ultimates, and the hell that put all of us _lower_ Digimon through,” Psychemon said as he watched the trio put on their bands with a big smile. He didn’t seem to notice their hesitance, or chose to ignore it. “Serve or die… and even then, that didn’t guarantee anything. You’re really only safe and secure as long as they’re in power, and that _never_ lasts.” He shook his head with a sigh. “I mean, even the Dark Masters couldn’t last. While serving Piemon had its own risks, I at least knew what to expect and thought that surely _he’d_ last. But he died like all the others and I was back to just trying to survive!”

Patamon immediately thought of Tailmon and her time under Vamdemon. The scars on her paws were proof of what she had gone through, what she had survived - and it was hardly an experience exclusive to her. It was enough to make his stomach churn.

“But now we’ll never have to worry about that again! Those stupid squabbles have all but completely disappeared!” Psychemon said, clapped his clawed hands together. “That’s all thanks to the Digimon Kaiser! He’s strong enough to take on _everyone_ , even the Holy Beasts! Under him, we won’t ever have to worry about the future again!”

“Uh, why?” Agumon asked, with a blink.

“Because he’s a Chosen Child!” Pyschemon replied, brightly. “They’ve defeated _everyone_ , including Digimon that no one thought _could_ be beat! Devimon, Etemon, Vamdemon, the Dark Masters… even the Holy Beasts themselves! _No one_ can beat the Chosen Children!”

Patamon frowned. He couldn’t help but notice that Psychemon was mixing Ken’s accomplishments with that of their own and he felt the strong desire to correct the Digimon, despite his mission. However, before he could, the sound of trumpets blaring cut him off and drew his attention - as well as that of everyone else - up towards a balcony of the fortress overlooking the grounds.

While it was still quite far away, the Digimon were still able to get a glimpse of a cloaked figure walking in to view - a cloaked _human_ figure.

“Is that…?” Yamato murmured as he stood up as much as he dared, straining to see. Even they heard the trumpets, despite the considerable distance. Unfortunately, they could see little more.

“Yup,” Taichi said grimly as he looked through the scope. “That’s Ken, alright.”

“Let me see!” Hikari blurted out even as she snatched up the telescope, ignoring Taichi’s yelp. It took her a moment to get it focused in the proper position, but when she saw the Digimon Kaiser, her jaw clenched.

It was irrational, Hikari knew, but part of her had been hoping that there had been some sort of misunderstanding, and Ken hadn’t taken the mantle of the Digimon Kaiser again. Even if things seemed far better now for the Digimon within the empire, it still felt wrong for Ken to behave like a tyrant, especially after being purged of both the Dark Seed and the taint of the Dark Ocean.

At the same time, there was also relief. This was her opportunity to finally talk to Ken again after the tragic incident of Armagemon. With that thought in mind, Hikari searched by the Digimon Kaiser’s legs for Wormmon, but was startled to see a wholly different Digimon by his side. “What the…?”

“What is it?” Takeru asked, his focus shifting between squinting in the direction Hikari was looking and the girl herself.

Rather than describe it in full, Hikari handed off the telescope to Takeru. “I can’t see Wormmon anywhere… and there’s another Digimon next to Ken.” She glanced down at YukimiBotamon. “Unless it’s Wormmon in a totally different form…” She trailed off, worrying that, perhaps, the Dark Ocean had left a permanent mark behind that even death could not erase.

Takeru frowned as he looked through the scope to find the Digimon in question, then paused. He was immediately taken aback by the stern, unyielding expression Dracomon wore on his face as he stood by the Digimon Kaiser. “If that is Wormmon, he’s completely changed… more than just appearance.”

“What do you mean?” Taichi asked as he held his hand out impatiently for the telescope, only to frown as Takeru instead held it to YukimiBotamon’s eye due to her present lack of hands.

“I could never imagine Wormmon making that kind of face,” Takeru said.

“I agree,” YukimiBotamon said as she squinted. “There’s no kindness, no gentleness in that face.”

Yamato was next to take the scope to get a look at the Digimon Kaiser and Dracomon for himself, much to Taichi’s frustration; it only made the Chosen of Courage want to see this mysterious Digimon all the more.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Yamato said before he pulled the scope back. He glanced at Taichi, a sly grin on his face, before finally offering the scope back to its master.

Taichi spared a moment to shoot Yamato an annoyed roll of his eyes before eagerly peering off into the distance again. He felt mildly disappointed that the Digimon he saw wasn’t somehow more impressive for all his impatience. “Huh. Yeah. That guy looks like he’s constipated.”

Yamato let out a ‘snrk’ sound before he covered his mouth with his hand. “Well, that’s one way to describe it.”

The three infiltrating Chosen Digimon felt no small amount of discomfort as the other Digimon around them screamed and cheered - Psychemon included. Their distinct quiet made them stick out like a sore thumb among the sea of enthusiasm. However, just as suddenly as it had begun, all the Digimon went perfectly silent when the Digimon Kaiser raised his hand.

With his rapt audience now silent, the Digimon Kaiser reached over to his collar to touch the button hidden there.

“You have done well,” the Digimon Kaiser said, his voice booming so loudly that even the Chosen Children had no trouble hearing him. “I placed my expectations in you, and you have exceeded them. This fortress is not only a monument to my ever growing power and strength, but to your dedication to me. For that, you should be proud.”

The Digimon Kaiser was answered by a burst of cheers applause from the gathered crowd. Gabumon, Agumon, and Patamon glanced around as the Digimon around them screamed their approval, clapping their hands - or paws, as the case may be - together to join in the clamorous din.

“Lord Kaiserrrrr~!” Psychemon shouted as he stood on a nearby table, waving his paws back and forth.

“Oraoraoraaaaa! Quiet down!” GrapLeomon barked from his position at the front of the fortress, raising his fists threateningly at the crowd. He seemed oblivious to the fact that his own voice was just as loud as the others, adding to the noise. “The Digimon Kaiser is still speaking!”

The Digimon Kaiser waited for the crowd to settle before he spoke again.

“This fortress will stand with the others as a monument to my strength, and to the strength of my empire,” the Digimon Kaiser said. “And a silent warning to those that dare oppose me. Let your actions stand for themselves, and I shall stand alongside you as we bring a utopia to the Digital World!”

“Is it just me,” Yamato said softly. “Or is he saying some pretty crazy things right now?”

“Yeah,” Taichi muttered as he lowered his telescope. “Is he really buying what he’s selling?”

“Probably not,” Takeru said, quietly. “But the Digimon are definitely swallowing it up.”

Hikaru furrowed her brow as she chewed on the Digimon Kaiser’s speech along with her lower lip. “Maybe it’s his way of making amends for what he did under the Dark Ocean’s influence.”

“A new outlook, to go with his new outfit?” Taichi mused as he crossed his arms.

“But if that’s the case, why isn’t he talking to us?” Yamato asked as he glanced to Hikari. “Or at least you.”

“We’re here to find that out,” YukimiBotamon said, her eyes focused on the Digimon Kaiser as he made his speech.

Hikari gave a sharp nod as she squinted her eyes at the distant stage before she paused. A glimpse of something in her peripheral vision caught her attention and drew her eyes towards the side of the fortress. To her surprised, all of the sentries and celebrating Digimon seemed to have moved from the area, leaving it clear. Even better, there appeared to be a large wooden door partially ajar, perhaps a service entrance of some kind.

Hikari only took a moment to consider the situation before steeling herself, deciding not to question their good fortune lest the opportunity slip away. “Follow me!” she hissed, the only warning she gave to the others as she hurried over to the door.

“H-Hikari!?” Taichi blurted out, surprised at her suddenly taking off. He glanced towards Agumon as his partner was still stuck in the crowd before he let out a curse and chased after his sister.

“What the hell-?” Yamato began before he jerked as Takeru bolted past, hurrying after Hikari and Taichi. With a displeased grunt, he lept out of hiding to wave towards the crowd, hoping Gabumon or the other Digimon would spot him. When it was quickly apparent that they wouldn’t turn around before some random Digimon did, he let out a quiet curse and chased after his friends and little brother.

Hikari made it to the door well before the others did and peered inside to see, much to her relief, the passageway was empty. She quickly glanced about to make sure no Digimon had spotted them before looking down at YukimiBotamon, who had quickly figured out what was happening. The small Digimon gave her partner a sharp nod, which Hikari returned before she reached up to grab the door and began to tug on it. Unfortunately, it was far too heavy for her to move by herself, causing her to yank harder with frustration.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Taichi whispered harshly as he joined his sister’s side, reaching to grab the side of the door.

“Recklessness runs in the family, apparently,” Yamato said as he moved to help Taichi as Takeru came to a stop by Hikari and kept watch on the crowd.

The door gave easily to the two boys’ strength, opening with a dull creak that couldn’t begin to be heard over the clamorous Digimon. The children quickly confirmed that no one had noticed, looking around, before they rushed inside within the fortress itself.

The Chosen Children were greeted by a large kitchen area, big enough to feed an army. It had numerous ovens, with counter space wrapping all around the walls of the room. All of it seemed centered around an open barbecue pit, where a big chunk of meat on a bone slowly turned on a spit. Everything looked like great preparations had been underway before being suddenly cut short, with everyone taking off in a great hurry - evidenced by a container of pepper that had been dropped, spilling its contents across the floor.

Takeru eyed the room with a suspicious gaze and furrowed brow, an uncomfortable hum rumbling at the back of his throat. “That’s… odd.”

“So, uh, now what?” Taichi asked as he scratched the back of his head.

The door slammed shut behind the Chosen Children, causing them to jump. They turned in time to see FlaWizarmon leaning against the door, his arms crossed as he cut off not only their escape but any way for Agumon, Patamon, and Gabumon to reach them.

“I was wonderin’ if ya’ll were stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trap,” FlaWizarmon said, coolly. “Turns out... ya were.”

“FlaWizarmon!” YukimiBotamon gasped out as the children turned to face the Digimon.

“Yup,” FlaWizarmon said with a sharp smirk. “That would be me.”

“And don’t forget me, dearies,” Witchmon’s voice drew the humans’ attention to the other entrance of the kitchen, the one leading out into the fortress itself. She smiled like a shark as he sat on her broom, her cats bristled as they glared at the Chosen Children with no small amount of animosity. “We _certainly_ haven’t forgotten _you_.”

Despite the irritation radiating off the two Digimon, Hikari was relieved to see them. “FlaWizarmon, Witchmon! We’re so glad you’re here. How are Ken and Wormmon doing? We haven’t heard anything for so long we were afraid that…”

Witchmon’s mouth curved into a dangerous crescent of dagger-like teeth as she loomed in closer to the children. “That Wormmon’s death destroyed Ken-chan and sent him to the Dark Ocean in despair? Is that what you were thinking?”

Hikari cringed back from the vicious smile and tone dripping with tension, but forced her feet to remain solidly in place. “Y-yes,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Keiko said she ‘got him,’ so, we…”

“Well, _someone_ sure got ‘im, alright,” FlaWizarmon said, his smile showing no warmth. “Got him _real_ good.”

“Not even we realized he was taken by the Dark Ocean until it was too late,” Witchmon intoned in a singsong voice that carried a discordant undertone that not even she could completely cover up with false cheer.

Hikari sucked in a breath and held it, her eyes flying open wide.

“Wait, Ken went to the Dark Ocean!?” Taichi sputtered. “Again? He’s tainted _again_!?”

“Turns out all that hard work was for nuthin’,” FlaWizarmon said with a deceptively casual shrug. “Chasin’ the Dark Ocean outta his head only for it to get its mitts on him anyway. Guess you don’t need taint when you _emotionally destroy_ someone.”

Hikari couldn’t breathe. Her vision blurred beneath a veil of tears as she held her partner closer.

Takeru immediately noticed Hikari’s distressand moved closer, grasping her shoulder in support. “Hikari…”

“So you’re saying that Ken-chan _has_ come back as the Digimon Kaiser,” YukimiBotamon said, slowly. Her body gave a small shiver against Hikari’s arms, though she attempted to keep herself strong - for her partner’s sake. “And it’s because of his time in the Dark Ocean.”

“ _I’m_ sayin’ that you all need to mind yer damn business,” FlaWizarmon said as he slammed his foot back against the door for emphasis. “‘Cuz you’ve done _enough_ , dontcha think?”

“We only let you in here to tell you one thing,” Witchmon said before she peeled back her cheerful mask to reveal a twisted sneer of sharp teeth and pinprick eyes that pierced through each of the Chosen Children. “Never come near Ken-chan again.”

“You can’t seriously expect us to agree to that,” Yamato said as he alternated his wary gaze between the two Digimon.

“There ain’t no agreeing,” FlaWizarmon said. “Just a warnin’.”

“B-but…,” Hikari choked out, her voice hitching from her tears. “That wasn’t… if you just let me-”

“We did,” Witchmon snapped, cutting Hikari’s pleas off before grinding her too sharp teeth. “And look where that got us, _dearie_.”

The words were a slap in the face to Hikari.

“That’s enough!”

The forceful male voice cut through the conversation like a knife, drawing all eyes past FlaWizarmon and Witchmon to the end of the hallway. The sound of boots and claws clicking on the polished stone floor heralded the arrival of the Digimon Kaiser, followed closely by Dracomon. A different kind of tension rolled in with his intimidating presence, his stance unwavering and confident as he approached the Chosen.

“You’re taking your frustration out on the wrong person,” the Digimon Kaiser said, his irritation seeming to come from a place of annoyance more than anger. However, the tense line of his mouth softened to a more inscrutable emotion as he turned towards Hikari, his eyes obscured by the dark lenses of his goggles. “Hikari Yagami chose Ken over her friends and brother. It’s hardly her fault that she had good reason to do so.”

FlaWizarmon reached up to grip the edge of his hat, pulling it down over his eyes. “Right as always, Kaiser-kun.”

Witchmon took a shuddering as she looked away while bringing a hand to her face, the ghostly cat coiling about her hat with a lashing tail. “You’re right… You’re right.”

“Ken…,” Hikari said breathlessly, her eyes widening. Almost immediately she looked the Digimon Kaiser up and down as a rush of panic shot through her. “Where are you tainted? We… we’ll figure out a way to overcharge the Digimental of Darkness again, then we-”

The Digimon Kaiser held up a hand as a signal to silence Hikari, only lowering it again when she went quiet. “Only Wormmon is tainted now. I’m taking care of him.”

Hikari released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Oh thank goodness. I… I kept worrying that Wormmon was sent to the Dark Ocean after… after…”

The Digimon Kaiser opened his mouth briefly before shutting it, reconsidering his words before he finally spoke again. “There’s nothing more for you to do here.” With a sweeping gesture, he brought up a series of view screens behind him that displayed Digimon of all sorts wearing his banner, working together or celebrating in the festival. “I’m bringing peace to the Digital World and taking care of Wormmon. I am not tainted by the Dark Ocean and never will be, so there’s no need for you to worry about my well being. I won’t ask for a miracle and request that you keep your comrades from acting like morons, but do _try_ not to interfere.”

“Hey now, what’s that supposed to mean!?” Taichi demanded as he clenched a fist at the Digimon Kaiser.

However, rather than flinch back, the boy turned to stare down Taichi impassively as Dracomon moved swiftly between them.

“It means that you are an idiot,” Dracomon said as he glared at the Chosen of Courage. “ _And_ a fool.”

Hikari placed a hand on Taichi’s arm and gently, but firmly, pushed it down. “Let me handle this, big brother. Please.”

Although Taichi’s first reaction was to protest, he managed to catch himself, thinking immediately of Daisuke. Mollified, he stepped back and nodded to Hikari; he would trust his little sister’s judgement when it came to Ken.

“Ken…,” Hikari began before pausing to make sure the words she chose were the right ones. “We’re not just here because of what you’ve been doing in the Digital World. We’re here because we’re worried about how you. We’re all still your friends, and we want to make things right between us.”

FlaWizarmon made a scoffing noise in the back of his throat, but quickly went silent when the Digimon Kaiser raised his hand in his direction.

“Not now,” the Digimon Kaiser said with a voice that attempted to be soft but still carried the weight of finality and some heavy emotion that was hard to pin down. “Later, when I can heal Wormmon, then we can talk again about this, but right now…” His gaze drifted from Hikari to the rest of the Chosen Children. “I don’t want to see you.” His mouth twisted until a canine poked out to dig into his lip. “Especially not _him_.”

There was no doubt in the minds of anyone gathered who the Digimon Kaiser was referring to as the light glared across his eyes and obscured the hatred that practically radiated off of him.

Taichi winced, still vividly recalling his heart-to-heart with Daisuke the other day. “About that… Daisuke feels-”

“ _I don’t want to hear it_!” the Digimon Kaiser roared, his booming voice echoing off the walls like a physical force that made nearly everyone step back from him. For a moment he stood quaking, hands clenched tight at his sides, before he finally spoke again in a low and dangerous hiss. “I don’t want to even hear his name. He is never, _ever_ welcome in my sight again!”

Taichi couldn’t let it go at that. “But-!”

“Enough!” the Digimon Kaiser snapped again, though not as loudly as before. “Continue to push me on this, and this conversation ends here and now, and you won’t be let back in again!”

Taichi bit his tongue, though it tasted a little of betrayal. He wanted to do more to help Daisuke and Ken make amends, but he couldn’t risk pressing the matter and possibly pushing Ken away from them for good.

Hikari slipped a hand up to clutch her chest, her other hand pulling her partner closer as her heart ached for Ken. “I’m so sorry… I should’ve… if I had just…”

The Digimon Kaiser held up a hand to silence Hikari again as he focused his breathing to even out, eventually lowering it with a sigh that took the edge off his tension. “Enough,” he said, a bit more gently this time. “You have nothing to apologize for, Hikari. Nor do you, YukimiBotamon. That’s why I let you in at all. You were kind when… when I needed it the most.”

Hikari smiled wanly, relieved by those words, even if she couldn’t completely let go of her feelings of guilt.

“I don’t want to talk of what happened anymore,” the Digimon Kaiser said, straightening up a bit as his emotions slid neatly behind a neutral mask. “Is that all you came here for?”

Takeru glanced at the others before he returned his attention to the boy in front of them. They were definitely in a difficult situation, as their hostility was far greater than any of them had hoped for - especially Hikari. However, they had come for a reason, and it was too soon to back down just yet. “We need you to remove your firewall on the Crystal Tower.”

There was a beat of silence before the Digimon Kaiser responded, his expression deadpan. “Do you even have the slightest clue why I put a firewall there in the first place?” He paused more for effect rather than to wait for an actual answer. “The door to the Dark World inside the Crystal Tower can never be closed, and the DigiGods are vulnerable. I have placed firewalls in both places to protect _everyone._ ”

“Vulnerable?” Takeru repeated, slowly. “So something _has_ happened to Narakumon?”

“Whatever the case,” Yamato said as he crossed his arms. “We need to go to the Dark World.”

“Are you insane?” the Digimon Kaiser asked, his mouth twisting in an inscrutable expression. “Do you even know what’s there?”

“We know what’s waiting for us there,” Yamato said as he stepped closer to the Digimon Kaiser. “We also know it’s the only way we can get to Ryo.”

The Digimon Kaiser stiffened. “Ryo?”

“The hell you know about Ryo?” FlaWizarmon growled as he leaned against the door, his arms crossed. “Not a _damn_ thing.”

“We know he’s in the Dark World with Zeed Millenniumon,” Takeru said. “And we now have a way to find him.”

Witchmon dug two of her large fingers into the collar of her dress as emotions warred across her face. “Zeed Millenniumon is in the Dark Ocean. And Ryo… Ryo…!” Her ghostly cat let out a mournful howl as her eyes shimmered wetly. “How can you save him from that!?”

“Do you even know what you’re asking me to do?” the Digimon Kaiser asked, his gaze fixed on Yamato. “Do you even have the slightest idea what going to war against the Dark Ocean means? What you’ll be facing?”

“No,” Yamato admitted, slowly, his eyes drifting to his companions. “I only know what Hikari’s experienced, and what Takeru saw. And even that won’t be able to compare to what we’ll actually be facing - Chosen of Darkness or not.” He turned back to meet the Digimon Kaiser’s stare unflinchingly. “I don’t want to go, but we _need_ to go. We _need_ to get to Ryo, and get him out of that hell.”

A pregnant silence followed as the two groups stared at each other, though Witchmon soon turned away, pulling her hat down over her face.

“You’re all planning to go,” the Digimon Kaiser accused, an edge to his voice. Although he kept his gaze in Yamato’s direction, the other children could feel his eyes behind the tinted goggles skirt across each of them in turn.

“We’re going to use the Darkness Digimentals to protect everyone that’s weak to the Dark Ocean,” Yamato said. “While I, Sora, and Miyako use our own Darkness to lead the way. Baihumon thinks it will work, as the Digimentals will be strengthened by the Dark World itself.”

The Digimon Kaiser sood still for a few seconds before stroking his chin with a gloved finger as a quiet hum rumbled in his throat. “That’s actually smart. The Digimentals work like armor and change your type for as long as the energy lasts.” He pointedly looked from Hikari to Takeru to Taichi and back to Yamato again. “But that won’t protect you from the whispers. Not even Darkness is strong enough alone to keep them out of your head when you’re inside the Dark Ocean.”

“This won’t be my first run in with the whispers,” Yamato said. He ignored how Takeru turned to stare at him, startled that he revealed his past experience so quickly. “I’ve already heard them before, a long time ago… and they very nearly _did_ consume me. But I’ve grown since then, and I’ve learned not to shoulder everything myself and assume I’m alone. At least in that case, I know what to expect… and I know how to fight it. And we’ve already decided that if anyone looks like they’re struggling, they’re getting sent back out.” He then turned his head just enough to give Takeru a poignant stare. “With or without their consent.”

Takeru looked about to argue as he bristled, then let out a low snort through his nose. It was hard to argue, when he knew it applied to Hikari as well as himself. And him arguing would only embolden Hikari to push herself harder than she should. He had to swallow his pride, if only for Hikari’s sake. “If that’s what it takes. But I’d like to think I won’t be an easy target this time.”

“We all would like to think that,” Yamato said before he returned his attention to the Digimon Kaiser.

“I’ll consider this plan,” the Digimon Kaiser said slowly. “However, if any of you are planning to be foolish enough to go into the Dark Ocean itself to drag Ryo out, it will _only_ be the Darkness Chosen. I trust the Digimentals enough to protect the rest of you in the Dark World, but if they were to fail at the wrong moment…” He trailed off, letting the dreadful thought hang in the air for a long moment before he spoke again.

The Digimon Kaiser fixed his gaze on Yamato. “You have Darkness inside your heart. It’ll never leave you. You’re the only ones that have a chance of going into the Dark Ocean and coming back out again even if the worst happens to you.”

Yamato gave a small nod. “My Darkness comes from my friends - and that includes Ryo. I’m not going to fail him. Even if that means physically pulling him out with my bare hands.”

The Digimon Kaiser nodded as well. “Alright then. Give me all the details of this plan of yours and some time to think things over. If I’m consenting to something so dangerous, I want to know everything you’ve got in mind.”

Yamato smiled. “Works for me.“


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Hikari and the rest returned to the Crystal Tower, not much seemed to have changed. Jou and the others were still standing guard as Koshiro and Miyako loitered as close to the door as they dared, with the Chosen of Knowledge sitting on the ground in front of his laptop while Miyako sat next to him with her DT2 in her hands. At the sudden bright flash of the Digital Gate, the others quickly looked up just in time to see their friends returning, with their partners in tow.

“You’re back!” Sora said as she straightened up. While she couldn’t believe that Ken would actually try to harm the others, she couldn’t help but feel relief upon seeing them return safely just the same.

“No luck?” Taichi asked as he approached Koshiro, then squatted down next to him.

“No,” Koshiro said with a heavy sigh.

“Even the chatroom is having trouble with it,” Miyako said without looking up. “It was bad enough before, but it’s like his skills have advanced to a new level of complex. This code is _nasty_.”

“How about your end?” Sora asked as she approached the Chosen of Courage. “No luck?”

“Oh, we had luck,” Taichi replied as he reached up to rub the back of his head. “ _Some_ kinda luck.”

Daisuke fidgeted from his own place on the ground, debating if he wanted to ask any questions or not. After a moment, the pressure in his chest became too much as the need to know overrode his _fear_ to know. He tentatively turned to the Chosen of Courage as he plucked stray blades of grass. “Did… Ken say anything?”

Taichi grimaced before he could stop himself. After a moment’s hesitation, he gave Daisuke a weak smile. “It’s… going to take some time.” At the Chosen of Tenacity’s stricken expression, Taichi quickly raised his hands defensively. “B-but hey, we already knew that, right? We knew it’d take some work, so… we’ll get there!”

It took a moment for Daisuke to force a word from his dry throat as he turned away. “Right.” Right. He knew this would happen. Of course Ken wouldn’t forgive him; he certainly hadn’t. Why did he even get his hopes up?

Takeru felt his heart go out to Daisuke and he gave the boy a sympathetic look before he turned to the others. “My brother was able to convince Ken to at least hear us out… and he said he’d _consider_ the plan. It seemed pretty hopeful to me.”

“The fact that he didn’t kick us out was pretty hopeful,” Yamato said as he crossed his arms. “But for now, we need to wait and see if he thinks our plan is a good one.”

“U-um…” a tiny voice said, barely a whisper. “E-excus-”

“Unfortunately,” Koshiro said with a sigh as he finally looked up from his laptop. “As much as I don’t want to give up, I have to admit that we haven’t made any progress at all. It’ll take us a long time to figure it out, if we ever do.”

“I’m sure you could do it,” Tentomon said. “You’re just lacking in experience. If given enough time, you’d be able to figure it out.”

“E-ex… excuse me…” the mousy voice murmured.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Koshiro said as he gave his partner a weak smile. “But that’s just it - we don’t _have_ a lot of time. We don’t have the luxury of doing this at our own pace.”

“Even as we speak, Ryo’s suffering,” Sora said as she clasped her hands together.

“Yeah, but thinking like that won’t help anyone, either,” Yamato said. “Not only will it just stress us out even more, but it could make us reckless in a place just _waiting_ for an opening.”

“That’s right, Sora~!” Piyomon said. “We need to just focus on what we can do _now_!”

“Um… u-u-um…” the voice tried to interject again, but it could barely reach above a whisper. “S-sorry, but-”

“That’s right!” Taichi shouted, pumping his fist in the air as though to punch away the cloud of pessimism hovering over all of them. “Even if Ken decides not to help us, we’re still better off than we were last time. I mean, he actually let us in to talk to us and none of his Digimon threw any crap at us again.”

“That’s definitely a plus,” Mimi said, then stuck out her tongue with a grimace.

“Yeah, definitely,” Palmon agreed before mimicking her partner.

“That’s right. We’re in a much better position, for once,” Jou said as he adjusted his glasses. “Though we still haven’t seen that agent of Zhuqiaomon that Baihumon said would be coming…”

“Um… um…!” the meek voice stammered, but it still fell short of the conversational din.

“Is it possible that he changed his mind?” Iori asked, with a frown. “Perhaps he decided against it after all.”

“After going to the lengths of getting Baihumon involved?” Miyako shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t look good for someone so high up in the food chain to back out now. I bet he’d never hear the end of it from Baihumon, for one.”

“I hope not,” Hikari said, more to herself. “Ryo’s depending on-”

“ _E-excuuuuuse m-m-m-m-meeeeeeeeeeeeee_!” shrieked the voice, high-pitched and breaking from the exertion. The explosion of unexpected sound came from directly behind the Chosen, causing them and their partners to all jump at the same time. For a moment, they could only look around at each other and their surroundings in confusion before they finally all saw the Digimon standing at an awkward distance from the group.

The Child Digimon squeaked as eyes turned to him, causing him to scrunch up with great embarrassment the full gravity of what he had done. It was a purple dragon Digimon - the very same one that had accompanied Zhuqiaomon - that blushed a brilliant shade of fuschia before the crowd of staring children and Digimon before him. For a moment he could only stammer out fragmented syllables that failed to form into words before he hastened to bow deeply enough that his horn brushed against the grass. Unfortunately, it had the side-effect of causing the Crest of Miracles to nearly fall off his neck, causing another squeak to escape him as he jerked upright and quickly snatched the sacred item before it could fall to the ground.

Once the Digimon was upright again, he held the crest and his hand over his rapidly beating heart. “I-I, um… I-I am Monodramon!” he said, his voice quaking as his rushed introduction crashed his words together. “P-pleased to meet you! I-I w-w-was sent by Lord Zhuqiaomon to help you rescue Lord Ryo!”

“Uh,” Taichi muttered, blinking slowly at the awkward Digimon. “Right.” With a shake of the head to clear his thoughts, he recovered from his surprise and smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Monodramon. I’m Taichi Yagami.”

“And I’m Agumon!” Agumon chirped as he tilted his head curiously.

Monodramon bowed again, but not quite as far as before, as he held the crest protectively against his chest. “P-p-pleased to meet you…!”

The rest of the Chosen Children and their partners added in their own greetings, with Monodramon bowing to each one in turn. By the end, his face was glowing red as he fidgeted in front of them, acutely aware of their intense scrutiny.

“So, you work for Zhuqiaomon, huh?” Miyako asked, cocking an eyebrow as her sharp eyes scanned the nervous little dragon. “What’s the guy like?”

“O-oh, he’s incredible!” Monodramon said as he perked up. “He’s v-very powerful and brave, and protects our world! It’s an honor to serve him!”

Takeru hesitated as he briefly debated asking the dragon Digimon why, if Zhuqiaomon was so impressive, that he never aided them before then - the same question they had asked Mystimon. However, he quickly squashed that impulse. There was absolutely nothing to gain from alienating a potential ally with such a question, as the answer wouldn’t really change anything. “So he sent you to help us?”

“Y-yes!” Monodramon said, brightly. “H-he gave me the Crest of Miracles, a-a-and embedded a program inside of me that lets me use it!” He pointed a claw at the crest as it rest against his chest. “W-with this, I can utilize the crest’s power to repel Z-Z-Zeed Millenniumon and lead us right to Lord Ryo!”

The plan sent a prickling of alarm through Hikari as she focused on one crucial detail. “Miracles will? But we need Darkness. The Dark Ocean is only weak against that, so that means it’s _made_ of Miracles.”

Taichi’s expression contorted slightly. “You know, it sounds weird when you say it like that out loud.”

“I-it’s fine!” Monodramon said. “L-Lord Zhuqiaomon planned for that as well, and said it would also work against the Dark Ocean!”

YukimiBotamon blinked before her face scrunched up in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. “Why? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Monodramon seemed taken aback by the question, staring at YukimiBotamon before he wilted, fidgeting anxiously. “I-I… I didn’t ask… b-but he said...”

“That’s pretty typical for ya.”

The unmistakable drawl immediately identified the owner of the voice, causing all the Chosen to quickly look about before finding FlaWizarmon and Witchmon as they stood and hovered respectively before the firewall. Their stances were so casual, it was as if they had been there the whole time.

“You don’t _ask_ Bird Brain to explain _anything_ ,” FlaWizarmon said. “Not if ya wanna live long.”

“Zhuqiaomon must know something we don’t,” Witchmon said as she pressed her fingertips together. “As usual.”

“And he’s hidin’ it,” FlaWizarmon said with a nod. “As usual.”

“FlaWizarmon! Witchmon!” YukimiBotamon said, her eyes widening. “Does this mean…?”

Witchmon flashed YukimiBotamon a toothy smile. “You’ve got the blessing of the Digimon Kaiser on this insanely risky little mission of yours.” She paused for a moment, watching the relief ripple through the Chosen before extended a finger. “Conditionally.”

Miyako’s gaze flattened as she braced her hands on her hips. “Of course. What’re the strings attached?”

FlaWizarmon smiled, a wicked glint in his eyes. “ _We’re_ goin’ with ya.”

While the rest of the Chosen’s reactions were mixed, Miyako merely blinked. “Okay. Sounds good.”

FlaWizarmon mentally stumbled, his mischief lost beneath a wave of bafflement as he stared at the Chosen of Passion. “That’s it?”

Miyako quirked an eyebrow. “You’re not our enemies, so why should we mind? We could use all the Darkness power we can get.” She paused a beat before letting out a huff of air through her nose. “It’s too bad Wallace isn’t here to add his Darkness to the pool too.”

“I don’t know, Miyako,” Mimi said, brow knit with worry as she wrung her hands together. “Wallace hasn’t been doing this kind of thing that long. I don’t think he’s ready for what we’re going to find in there.” She shuddered, recalling some of the descriptions Hikari gave about the Dark World, as well as remembering all too well the nightmare that had been unleashed upon them in Factory Town.

“I don’t think _any_ of us are ready,” Jou muttered, more to himself. When he saw Mimi glance at him, he quickly recovered and gave her a weak smile. “But Mimi’s right. Wallace hasn’t been a Chosen long enough to really know what it’s like, or what he may have to deal with… and we don’t want to scare him away.”

FlaWizarmon blinked and quirked an eyebrow before he glanced to Witchmon, who gave him a shrug. He then reached up to rub the back of his head. “Riiiiiiiight. Aaaaanyway. We got orders to watch your backs and if we think yer pushing yourselves too hard, we’re gonna warp your asses right out. So don’t think about riskin’ yer necks for some kinda heroics, ‘cuz we won’t let you.”

Sora visibly relaxed as she gave the two Digimon a soft smile. Even after everything that happened, including the lingering resentment still aimed at Daisuke, Ken was still Ken - Kindness until the end. “Thank you. And please thank Ken for us, too.”

Witchmon shared a look with FlaWizarmon before giving a slight nod. “Will do, dearie. And, Light Darling?” She turned to Hikari, her smile turning wan. “I… _we_ owe you an apology. Kaiser-kun was right. What happened wasn’t your fault, but we tore into you like it was when you didn’t deserve any of it.”

Daisuke flinched. He could feel the undercurrent of accusation in Witchmon’s words, even though she didn’t so much as look in his direction. It was her cat, coiled in angles around her head, boring holes through him with its sharp eyes that told him without question that she and her partner still hated him for what he did.

What made it worse was that he knew he deserved it.

FlaWizarmon had the good grace to look sheepish as well, reaching up to pull down the brim of his hat. “We know better ‘n anyone that you tried yer best… and you sacrificed a lot to stop Wormmon. We were just… frustrated. At everyone, includin’ ourselves.”

Hikari exhaled slowly, a knot in her chest loosening just a fraction. “It’s okay-”

“It’s not, dearie,” Witchmon insisted before she hovered closer to Hikari and placed a large hand on the child’s shoulder that completely covered it. “We hurt you because we hurt, but that doesn’t excuse it. We’re sorry, so very sorry.”

Hikari faltered a moment, her first instinct to repeat what she had said before, but she realized Witchmon wouldn’t accept that. Instead, she smiled softly at the two remorseful Digimon. “I understand. I forgive you. What happened…” She had to pause, fumbling for the right words. “What happened hurt all of us…”

Witchmon nodded, then lowered her gaze to meet YukimiBotamon’s sharp eyes. “And, as much as we hated what you had to do, we owe you for doing it.” Her mouth opened silently before shutting with a click of her sharp teeth, and a beat later she tried again with a strained smile. “Though… you’ll have to please forgive me for not being able to thank you for it.”

“I wouldn’t want thanks, anyway,” YukimiBotamon said in a somber rumble. “Not for… that. But I understand the sentiment, so don’t worry.”

Witchmon’s smile relaxed just a hair and she gave Hikari’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before she gave the child and her partner some space.

“Well, then,” FlaWizarmon said, with cheer in his voice that felt more forced than genuine. “Shall we get this party started?”

With that, FlaWizarmon pulled out one of his giant matchsticks and gave it a twirl before slamming it directly against the firewall on the door. With a flash and boom of fireworks, the firewall burst into bits of data, revealing a grand doorway of ornately carved crystal.

FlaWizarmon quirked a smile and opened his mouth to say something before a loud bang rumbled through the area as the large doors swung open unceremoniously, revealing the resplendent crystalline interior. The Chosen Children and assembled Digimon all turned to stare at the doors, then at each other, before taking the cue to cease their conversation and venture closer towards the entrance of Crystal Tower.

Aside from decorations such as banners, carpets, or paintings, every inch of the finely adorned entryway was made of crystal, including the plants placed in large vases. The creaking of the hinges echoed off the high ceiling, drawing the Chosen’s attention to the fact that there were no attendants fluttering about maintaining the halls and no Digimon to greet them at the entryway. There was nothing but empty space, despite clearly being built to hold a seemingly massive audience.

Mimi squealed at the crystalline decor, stars shining in her eyes. “Oh… my… _gosh_! This place is beautiful! Everything is made of gems!” She rushed over to the closest vase, which was full of crystal roses that reflected rainbows across their delicate looking petals. “Ohhh… I’d die to have flowers like these?” She cast a furtive glance around. “Do you think anyone would mind if I just…”

Yamato felt a trickle of sweat run down the back of his head as Mimi started snatching up roses without waiting for an answer. “I’m pretty sure someone is going to miss those if you start looting the place.”

Mimi shot Yamato a contemptuous look, cheeks puffing out in a sulky pout as she put all the roses back but one, which she slipped into her hair behind her ear. Much to her surprise and delight, the crystal was somehow just as soft and silky as a real rose, which made it comfortable to wear. “Well, okay, but they won’t miss just _one_ right?” She paused briefly before taking another rose and tucking it between Palmon’s rainbow-dyed petals. “Make that two.”

Palmon blinked as she tilted her head, turning to look in the wall to see her reflection. While she knew she shouldn’t be encouraging Mimi, her partner’s excitement made a very good argument - that and the way her petals made the rose look as if it too had been dipped in a rainbow. “It’s so pretty…!”

Mimi giggled happily, her smile brilliant as she clapped her hands together, gushing over their reflections. “Isn’t it? Isn’t it? It’s the perfect accessory!”

Takeru blinked, shaking off both the glittering decor and his friends’ reactions to it as he glanced around, before cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hellooooo? Anyone there?”

“No. There is not.”

The strange, emotionless female voice made all the Chosen Children and their partners jump. Glancing around wildly, they eventually spotted the source - a robed Digimon humanoid that slowly stepped out of the shadows in to the massive hall, her feet echoing against the crystal floors.

The newcomer was a purple-eyed angelic woman in robes of white adorned in gold trim, a large purple triangle emblazoned across her chest with two lower small golden ones on either side. Three golden spheres the size of baseballs slowly orbited about her head like a halo, but they were nowhere near as striking as the golden pointed horns that parted her wavy curtain of purple hair. While golden wings on her back gave her a grandiose aura, the occasional patch of purple scales on her pale skin and the third golden eye in the middle of her forehead made it abundantly clear she was not like the angels the children were familiar with from media.

The draconic angel came to a stop at the center of the room, dragging the train of her robes and the hint of a purple tail tip behind her. She pressed her fingers together as she regarded the children with a tilt of her head. “At least, not anymore.”

“L-Lady Cassandramon!?” Monodramon squeaked, covering his mouth with his hands as his eyes flew open wide.

“ _You_?!” FlaWizarmon snarled, with no small amount of venom and hostility in his voice.

Witchmon bristled as her cat arched its ghostly body as it let out a menacing hiss and growl. “You just had to show up, didn’t you!?” she shouted, baring her sharp teeth in a dangerous snarl.

Taichi stared at the unusual looking Digimon that not only seemed to be an angel, but part dragon as well. He found the combination, as well as the fact that the eye on her forehead never blinked, somewhat unsettling. “Who’re you?”

“I am Cassandramon,” the draconic angel Digimon replied. “The avatar of Huanglongmon.”

“Huanglongmon…,” Jou repeated slowly before his eyes widened. “Wait! Y-you mean… the _dead_ -er…” He slapped his hand over his mouth to cut off his outburst before glancing guiltily at Cassandramon.

“Yes, the dead one,” Cassandramon said without any emotion.

“Smoooooth one, Jou,” Gomamon said quietly to his partner, as the Chosen of Honesty’s face turned deep red.

“T-t-t-that’s right!” Monodramon stammered as he flailed his arms. “S-she’s the avatar of Lord Huanglongmon!” He then turned to stare at Cassandramon. “L-Lord Zhuqiaomon thought she had died in the war, as she n-never answered his summons and-”

“I do not answer summons,” Cassandramon said, with an owlish stare.

Monodramon trailed off at that, gaping at Cassandramon in disbelief. “O-oh. Um…”

“How the hell did you get in there!?” FlaWizarmon demanded. “We locked the damn door - _tight_! Even you couldn’t have gotten in!”

Cassandramon met the Digimon’s question with only a stare.

Witchmon let out a hiss of air through her teeth that sounded surprisingly cat-like. “You were in here the whole time, hiding from us when we made our sweep of the place, weren’t you?”

“I did not hide,” Cassandramon said. “I simply waited where you were not.”

“Oh, ho hoh, right!” Witchmon barked out with a burst of sarcastic laughter. “That oh-so _convenient_ future vision of yours told you where to ‘wait’ to make sure we wouldn’t cross paths, didn’t it?” Her teeth ground together as she flashed a vicious sneer. “Just like it told you where not to be so you could _skip out on the entire damn war_!”

FlaWizarmon grit his teeth as he let out a low growl. “Of _course_ you’d be involved in this. You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you.”

“I would not call the current situation ‘well enough’,” Cassandramon replied. “But you are entitled to your feelings.”

Fury flooded FlaWizarmon and Witchmon’s expressions as both looked about ready to outright attack the angel Digimon. However, at the last moment, FlaWizarmon sucked in his breath before letting it out through his clenched teeth. His face still smoldered with anger, but he placed his matchsticks on his back once more. “Bitch.”

Witchmon took longer to calm, her ghostly cat growling as it practically quaked with claws and teeth bared in a barely restrained threat.

Miyako clapped her hands together loudly until she got everyone’s attention, her body tense but her expression severe. “ _Okay_! I hate to throw myself into this busload of baggage, but can we not lose focus on why we’re here?”

“She’s right,” FlaWizarmon said, slowly. He glared at Cassandramon, as if he were stabbing her with his eyes. “Ryo’s far more important than you could ever be.”

“That, I would never dispute,” Cassandramon agreed calmly, as if the two hadn’t been seconds away from violence.

Witchmon let out a sharp snort of air through her teeth and floated a short distance away from the group in a desperate effort to regain her composure. FlaWizarmon quickly moved to join her, glancing over his shoulder to keep his lingering glare on the other Digimon - for all the good it did.

Takeru watched as the two stormed off before focusing on Cassandramon. He didn’t fully understand the situation, but if the outburst from Witchmon was anything to go by, he had a pretty good idea what was going on. While curiosity wanted him to press for answers, logic told him that Miyako was absolutely correct - they needed to focus on Ryo, not on old grudges.

The silent tension was too much for Taichi, as he struggled for a topic change. “Um… ah, so, hey, anyway!” he blurted out a little too loudly. “What’s an avatar anyway?” He turned to Koshiro, desperately pleading for help with his eyes.

“O-oh, w-well…,” Koshiro said, fumbling over his words after realizing Taichi was looking his way. “An avatar can actually mean a lot of things. Usually it means a representative or representation of something or someone.”

“That is correct,” Cassandramon said as she laced her fingers together, as serene and calm as the surface of a still lake “I represent Huanglongmon’s will in the Digital World, and am granted a portion of his power as a result.”

“Why does a god need someone to represent ‘em?” Taichi asked as he scratched the back of his head, slightly relieved that his gambit seemed to be paying off.

Koshiro jerked his head as he remembered something, excitement bubbling up inside him as pieces clicked together in his mind. “Oh! I get it! Jijimon told us this, remember? The DigiGods can’t appear in the Digital World in physical bodies, otherwise it’ll warp the code, probably because of overloading it with data, so they need someone to do it for them. That’s what happened to the Battlefield Memorial when Narakumon manifested there!”

“Precisely,” Cassandramon said. “Narakumon and Tenraimon also have avatars.”

“Even Narakumon?” Takeru asked. “We’ve spoken to him several times and he never mentioned one.”

“Is there a reason for that?” Patamon asked as he rested on Takeru’s head.

The atmosphere quickly turned cold, and the Chosen Children’s attention were immediately drawn to Witchmon and FlaWizarmon, who were gazing at Cassandramon with expressions that could have frozen open flame.

Cassandramon tilted her head to the side, all three eyes staring at Takeru. “The answer to that question… is an unhappy one.”

Takeru flinched slightly under the stare, finding it to be far more unnerving than he expected. It was as if she was staring straight through him into his very soul. “Uh… actually, that kind of answers it well enough.”

Hikari’s heart went out to Narakumon. Not only did the Digital World view him as evil, but he lost Keiko and his representative in the Digital World. She didn’t know who his avatar was, but surely he was someone close to Narakumon as well. Even still, she couldn’t help but change the topic to what felt almost like a selfish question. “What about Tenraimon’s avatar?”

The temperature around the area seemed to drop sharply, causing the Chosen to yet again glance over to where FlaWizarmon and Witchmon lingered. The sudden atmospheric change was so cold that it felt like it would actually begin snowing - _just_ around the two Digimon as they glared at the oblivious Cassandramon.

Cassandramon tilted her head in the opposite direction as she fixed her gaze on Hikari instead. “That answer is _also_ an unhappy one.”

Hikari held YukimiBotamon closer to her chest and cringed. “Oh… Poor Narakumon and Tenraimon…”

“Zeed Millenniumon really did a lot of damage,” Takeru murmured softly as he glanced to Hikari. “To the Digital World, to the Digimon… to everyone.”

“Indeed,” YukimiBotamon said as she flicked her ears. “But we’re here to start undoing some of that damage - starting with Ryo.”

“T-that’s right!” Monodramon said as he turned to Cassandramon. “W-we’re here for the doorway t-to the Dark World! D-do you know where it is?”

Cassandramon turned her gaze to Monodramon, staring down the purple dinosaur Digimon. He cringed under her unrelenting stare, wilting before hiding behind Hikari - as if somehow the Chosen of Light could shield him from her gaze.

“O-oh, right,” Monodramon murmured. “O-of course you do.”

Cassandramon blinked deliberately slow before she turned her head to stare off somewhere in the distance to her side. “The stairway to your left will take you downwards, deep in to the depths of the Digital World. There, you will find the doorway to the Dark World.” She paused for a moment before turning back to face the Chosen Children. “It is a very long stairway.”

V-mon glanced towards the doorway before his face twisted in a scowl. “Is that how Ken got to the Dark Ocean? He snuck in?” While Daisuke might’ve been holding in his feelings towards Ken after everything that had happened, he felt no such obligation. He especially didn’t care when FlaWizarmon and Witchmon both shot him a glare, which he defiantly returned with equal ferocity.

“No,” Cassandramon shifted her gaze to V-mon despite how he wasn’t even looking at her, too busy with his tense staring contest. “The Dark Ocean calls to those of the Digital World with trauma in their hearts. He simply answered the call - by being in a state of mind that lacked the will to resist it.”

V-mon’s ears canted back, his face scrunched up uncomfortably as such information broke his gaze away from the duo to glare at the reflections in the crystal floor.

“That’s something I didn’t exactly understand,” Yamato interjected. “I get that you don’t have to be tainted to be called by the Dark Ocean, but why did it happen to _us_?” Though he expected Cassandramon to look his way, he still flinched slightly as her three unsettling eyes met his.

“You and the Chosen of Love know the answer to that,” Cassandramon replied without emotion.

Sora felt her heart lurch in her chest and she clutched her breast on instinct; she knew _exactly_ what the angel Digimon was referring to. The contorted expression on Yamato’s face told her that he had the same thought. “But… Baihumon said that our crests are strong against the Dark Ocean. So… so why?”

“Even the strongest of doors can be breached if you leave it open,” Cassandramon replied. “Or if you open the door willingly to unpleasant guests that come knocking.”

Yamato gawked at Cassandramon for a moment before anger and regret twisted his face unpleasantly. He knew exactly what she meant. He had been so focused on his own pain, his own feelings of trauma, that he had lowered his defenses and nearly allowed the twisted whispers to take him. It wasn’t until he had found the strength to resist that he was able to shake away its influences. Wordlessly, the Chosen of Friendship glanced to Gabumon, who immediately met his gaze with one full of understanding and support.

“So I let it happen,” Sora murmured, a wave of guilt hushing her voice to nearly a whisper. Her eyes fell to the floor, focusing on the glimpses she could see around her shoes of the darker reflection of herself displayed in the utterly smooth crystal. “I was weak and let them come into my heart, and twist it.”

Taichi instinctively wrapped an arm around Sora and pulled her close, his heart going out to her. “Hey, come on…”

“But then you stopped!” Piyomon said enthusiastically as she hopped around Sora, attempting to catch Sora’s eye. “In the end, you stopped listening and closed the door right in their faces! That’s what matters!”

In spite of the twisting feeling inside her heart, Sora couldn’t help but smile as the energetic bouncing of her partner drew her gaze away from her reflection. “You’re right,” Sora said, a soft smile playing on her lips as she leaned, just a little, against Taichi. “That’s what matters.”

“But wait!” Taichi blurted out abruptly as a thought struck him, eyes widening as his body went rigid. “What about Hikari, then!? They were calling to her all the time! She doesn’t have any taint or trauma…” He paused before he glanced at Hikari, his face asking the silent question of if she was hiding some deep level of trauma he wasn’t aware of.

“No, she does not,” Cassandramon said as she steepled her fingers together. “However, she is a God Crest - and is connected to her four guardian crests. The Chosen of Kindness is one of said guardian crests.” She then slowly swiveled her head about to stare at Hikari. “Have you heard the Dark Ocean’s call since you purged Ken - and executed Wormmon?” she asked, though her flat tone implied that she already knew the answer.

Hikari opened her mouth to respond until the word “execution” slammed into her chest and pierced her heart, stealing away her voice and leaving her unable to do more than creak out a wordness tone.

YukimiBotamon flinched back against Hikari’s chest as a single word stabbed her with guilt and twisted her mouth into a pained grimace. The way Cassandramon spoke so bluntly, almost to the point of savagery, really rubbed her the wrong way and sparked some anger towards the unusual angel. It was hard to know how much was intentional, but she couldn’t deny the truth of Cassandramon’s words - just the phrasing.

“Wait, are you saying it’s Ken’s fault Hikari had all those nightmares!?” Taichi blurted out, only to cringe at the glare his sister gave him.

“It wasn’t _Ken’s_ fault that he was tainted,” Hikari said lowly.

“I-I know, I know,” Taichi said as he held up the hand not wrapped around Sora in a warding gesture. “That’s not what I meant. I meant, ah… you know, the crests thing.”

Cassandramon glanced between Hikari and Taichi before lacing her fingers together again. A quiet, almost thoughtful hum rumbled from her throat, but her expression didn’t change in the slightest.

Koshiro stroked his chin, letting out a hum of his own as he considered this new information. “That must be why they’re called guardian crests. We’re all tied to one, except Hikari. So that means if one of us is compromised, we’re putting whoever has the God Crest in danger. Right?” He looked to Cassandramon eagerly.

“That is correct,” Cassandramon said. “That is why the Dark Ocean is desperate to taint Light - _any_ Light. Even if it cannot touch her directly, it can still get to the Chosen of Light through the others - through Courage, Hope, Kindness, and Honor.”

Taichi looked from Takeru to Iori before his gaze went distant with a frown, determination welling up inside him in the face of adversity. “Well then, we’re just gonna have to try our best to keep Hikari safe, right guys?”

“Of course,” Takeru said as he gave Hikari a smile that she returned.

“Agreed,” Iori said with a sharp nod.

“So with _that_ out of the way, how about we get down to business?” Pafumon asked as she wiggled her ears, hovering over the group. “And by business, I mean getting Ryo away from that creeper?”

“She’s right,” Sora said with a nod. “We’ve got to focus, now more than ever.”

“Right, so let’s… um,” Jou began before he quickly began to falter as the dread of where they were going came rushing back anew. Still, he managed to shove it down in to his stomach. “L-let’s go!”

“You heard the man!” Gomamon said cheerfully, smiling up at his partner.

The Chosen Children quickly hurried to the stairs, under Cassandramon’s watchful gaze. She only looked away to meet the stares of FlaWizarmon and Witchmon as they approached, their hateful eyes still upon her.

“Just so we’re clear,” FlaWizarmon said, venom dripping from his words. “You ain’t sacrificin’ anyone else, ever again. Not a single damn one.”

Witchmon jabbed Cassandramon in the breastbone with a large, pointy finger. “ _Especially_ not any of the _children_. If even one of them dies…” She drew her finger in a line across her neck as her mouth stretched out into ugly rows of razor sharp teeth. “Death will be the _least_ of your worries.”

If Cassandramon was fazed at all by the obvious threat, her serene face didn’t show it. She offered no reaction as she watched the two Digimon move to follow the Chosen Children and their partners, disappearing into the stairwell that lead them in to the depths.

After a moment, she finally tilted her head to the side as she blinked all but her third eye.

“That will depend on you,” Cassandramon said.

\---

Going to the Dark World in her dreams was always nerve-racking for Hikari. It was a place that haunted her, calling to her desperately. It was a place so tainted and wrong that even the thin comfort of knowing she wasn’t really there was barely enough to keep her nerves in check.

She had no such luxury now.

All of the assembled Chosen Children gawked about their surroundings as they stood just outside the massive silver door at the base of the tower. When they had been instructed to head downward, following the steps not only back to the bottom floor but then continue _beyond_ it, none of them had known what to expect. As a result, none were prepared for how long they had to traverse down spiralling steps that took them seemingly down in to the depths of the earth itself, only for it to open to a massive world with dark, sunless skies and gray tinted scenery.

And, more importantly, a massive black ocean that beckoned them towards its deadly maw like a coiled snake.

The moment they crossed the threshold into the Dark World child and Digimon somehow knew the direction of the Dark Ocean. It was something deeply instinctual, setting their nerves on edge and warning them of a danger they couldn’t see. Then, there was the sound. The Dark World lacked the usual background noises, such as the clatter of the urban city the children came from, or the rustle of wind punctuated by the call of some form of digital life that was present in most every other part of the Digital World. However, that didn’t mean that the Dark World was silent.

Though indistinct, the sound of countless whispers and waves haunted the Chosen just at the edge of their hearing.

A shiver ran up Mimi’s spine and sent her latching onto the arm of the nearest person, which happened to be Jou - much to his surprise - as a tremble ran through her body. The only noise she could manage was a tiny eeking of fear from her throat.

Jou was in a state of fear himself, though he quickly broken from it by the grab and reached up to grasp her hand. “I-it’s okay, I… we’ve got you. We’re all in this together…!” He only hoped she didn’t notice how badly his own hand was shaking.

“This is…” Yamato muttered as he stared about, Gabumon standing close by.

“Creepy as _fuck_ ,” Taichi said, eyes fixed on the not too distant shore. He could feel his insides tense like a coiled spring as his instincts readied him to move at a moment’s notice should something emerge from the water. He scarcely noticed that he wasn’t the only one watching the ocean.

“Welcome to the Dark World,” YukimiBotamon said with a flick of her ears.

“Welcome indeed!” FlaWizarmon said, with a grim smile.

Takeru swallowed thickly, his mouth gone dry. “Yeah,” he said before swallowing again. “I remember this place.” He half expected to appear directly beside the shore of the Dark Ocean, just like the last time he came to the Dark World. It should have been a relief that there was solid ground beneath his feet instead of sand, but he wasn’t.

“It… certainly lives up to its name,” Iori said as he scrutinized his surroundings, with no small amount of unease. He tried not to focus too much on the ocean itself, knowing that danger could come from any direction, but he couldn’t help but keep jerking his gaze back to the shore whenever he caught movement from the waves out of the corner of his eye.

Monodramon glanced about anxiously as he stood behind the Chosen Children, wringing his claws together as he shifted from foot to foot. “I-it’s, ah… n-not what I was expecting…”

“Dark, dank, and dreary,” Pafumon said as she sat on Miyako’s head. “No wonder everyone’s dying to get out of here!”

Miyako was only partially successful in stifling her laughter behind her hand in an inelegant snort in spite of their surroundings, grateful for her partner’s distracting use of levity. “That pun was baaaaaad.”

Pafumon puffed up with pride upon hearing Miyako’s giggle. “Absolutely!”

Unfortunately, the joking could only do so much to lighten the tension, as the very air of the Dark World sent an unnerving chill deep down into their bones. What should have been simply a monochrome version of a tranquil beach became a horrifying mockery. Instead of gentle blue waves lapping the shore, the black water surged forward to grope at the gray sand with countless foam fingers, gripping for purchase and clawing forward, only to be dragged back as the Dark Ocean retreated, but never for very long. It was an endless unnerving cycle.

The Dark Ocean was a commanding force, one hard to look away from, as some primal instinct buried in the children and at the forefront of the Digimon demanded that they pay attention to it and never waver. That was why it took them longer to take in the rest of their surroundings. Rather than standing on sand or dirt, beneath their feet lay a path made of silvery marble that led to the ocean, deteriorating along the sand until only small bits and pieces of ruins were left jutting from the waters that broke them down a little more at a time each time the waves clawed at the shore.

The doorway they passed through looked different on this side of it, appearing more as a delicate archway made from the same silver marble, carved with embellishments reminiscent of ancient Greek temples. There was no building on the other side of the archway, but a marble pathway lined with pillars led towards a grand temple that Hikari and YukimiBotamon immediately recognized.

With terrible certainty, Hikari realized that she wasn’t far from where Nyamon had taken her the night she and Tailmon met Keiko. Not only did the memory of what she had learned at that time fill her with dread, but the knowledge that, back then, the Dark Ocean had been nowhere in sight.

“The Dark Ocean is getting bigger,” YukimiBotamon said gravely, ears twitching as she glared towards the blackened waves, catching the sound of countless whispers and distant screams. She could feel innumerable eyes gazing at them with envy and a terrible hunger that set her completely on edge.

Taichi frowned and stepped closer to Hikari, knowing with cold certainty from the dread burrowing its way down to his bones that he was just as vulnerable as his sister in this place. “Which means we should get going, and stay _away_ from that ocean.”

“Right,” Yamato said before he turned to stare at Takeru. “Which _also_ means that all the Light Chosen should suit up _now_ rather than after the temple.”

Takeru felt a twinge of irritation at Yamato singling up out but decided to ignore it. His brother had a point, after all. “Right.” Pulling out his Digivice, the Chosen of Light turned to his partner. “You ready, Patamon?”

“Ready!” Patamon said, brightly. He began to glow as his partner lifted his Digivice, and within seconds, the small child Digimon was engulfed with the light from the Digimental of Pride and was replaced with the draconic form of DeviDramon.

“I admit, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” Takeru said as he looked up at his partner.

“You and me both,” DeviDramon said as he looked himself over.

“You next, Hikari,” Taichi said as he turned to his sister expectantly.

Hikari nodded before she grabbed her own Digivice. “Ready, YukiBotamon?”

“Of course,” the small Digimon said before she hopped out of her partner’s arms to the ground. As the Digimental of Darkness flowed from her partner’s device to her own body, the small baby Digimon evolved. Within seconds, Tailmon was back to her rightful size - though with midnight fur, as Black Tailmon.

“Well, it’s good to have arms again,” Black Tailmon said as she stretched. “And legs.”

Hikari bent down to hug Black Tailmon close. “It’s good to see you almost back to normal.”

“Shall we… go as well, Kyokyomon?” Iori asked hesitantly as he lifted his own Digivice.

“Yes, I-o-ri!” Kyokyomon said, with great enthusiasm as he squirmed in his partner’s arms before he leapt down to his partner’s feet. “I’ll protect you!”

Iori grimaced before he pointed his Digivice directly at his partner, with a stiff and trembling hand. He aimed it as if it were a remote control aimed at a television set, for all the lack of practice he had with his partner.

Regardless of the awkward pose, Kyokyomon evolved nevertheless and was soon replaced with a small yellow armadillo-like Digimon with tri-pointed ears and a dragon tail that proudly declared himself to be Armadimon.

“Aww, how cute~!” Mimi squealed in spite of the terrible surroundings.

“It… it worked,” Iori said, blinking.

“Beast plus dragon equals armadillo,” Miyako said as she adjusted her glasses. “Got it.”

Taichi blinked at Armadimon before looking at Yamato with a crooked smile. “Honestly? I never expected your Digimental to make such a cute evolution.”

Yamato barked out a laugh before giving Taichi a wry grin. “Hey, what are you trying to say?”

Taichi playfully nudged Yamato in the ribs. “ _Some_ body has a cute side.”

“I wonder if _somebody else_ has one too,” Sora chirped as she stepped up beside her boyfriend, a bright smile on her face.

Taichi couldn’t help but blush and cleared his throat as he looked away from the implication.

“I can’t wait to see what cute evolution your Digimental has for me, Miyako!” Mimi said with a little _too_ much enthusiasm, trying to lose herself in the excitement of a new evolution and _not_ in their creepy surroundings.

As the light of evolution washed over Palmon, Miyako glanced up at Pafumon. “Sorry you couldn’t be first to use your Digimental after all, Pafumon.”

Though rumpled, Pafumon fluttered her fur primly as she settled atop Miyako’s head. “It doesn’t matter. As Armadimon said a while back, Digimentals are no substitute for the real thing. So I’ve decided to be generous, so everyone be grateful!”

Miyako smiled gently at that. “I’m sure they are. I know I am.”

The transformation Palmon took was a far cry from any other she had undergone. Although she was still humanoid, Algomon was anything but adorable or voluptuous , with a muscular lightly purple body. The armor covering her black bodysuit was shades of dark purple framed by green that looked like eyes, complete with golden circles for the pupils. A mantle of green fronds covered her shoulders with countless fine feathery leaves and long green vines with wicked ends shifted around behind her.

Of all the new evolutions they discovered so far that day, all the Chosen could agree that Algomon’s was the most intimidating.

Mimi gawked at the change in her partner. She had expected something cute, even sexy, but the Digimon in front of her was, to put it simply, _terrifying_. “Algo...mon? How… how do you feel?”

“I feel fine Mimi,” Algomon said, her dark voice somehow cheerful. When her shaded eyes caught sight of her partner, she frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Mimi jerked and flailed her arms in front of her for a moment, panicked at the very thought of upsetting Algomon over something that was out of their control. “N-no, no! It’s just…” She faltered for a moment before finally pouting. “I was expecting Passion evolutions to be _cute_ , not… not…” She fumbled over a good description before gesturing at Algomon. “ _Intimidating_! You look like you could smash a city apart with one hand!”

“I feel like I could, actually,” Algomon admitted, to which Mimi puffed out her cheeks.

Miyako smirked at Mimi’s pouting, folding her arms over her chest. “Sorry, Mimi, but that’s just how I roll. I don’t ‘do’ cute.”

Iori suddenly cleared his throat, lifting his fist to his mouth to ‘politely’ cover it up.

Miyako shot Iori a look. “Hush, you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Mimi finally declared, throwing her arms up. “It’s better for Algomon to scare the monsters away anyway, so it’s better this way.”

Algomon smiled, relieved. “I won’t let you down, Mimi.”

“It’s _your_ turn now,” Sora said as she tapped Taichi’s shoulder, still smiling.

“Oh, yeah, right!” Taichi blurted out as he held up his Digivice. “L-let’s see what Love can do for us.” He paused, his cheeks darkening. “I-I-I mean the crest! Love crest! Crest for Love! That’s what I meant!”

Agumon put a claw to his face and shook his head, embarrassed for his partner. “Taiiichiii…”

“D-Digimental up!” Taichi shouted as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get his head back in the game and far, far away from his public humiliation.

Agumon evolved quickly, transforming in to Lavorvomon - a flying dinosaur hybrid that seemed to have crawled straight out of a volcano, armor-like scales made of cooling black lava resting on top of skin glowing like liquid magma.

Taichi outright gawked at the new evolution before him, his mouth hanging open in a small ‘o’ of wonder. “Oh… _wow_! That’s so cool! You look great, Lavorvomon!”

Lavorvomon grinned down at his partner, toothily.

“Huh,” Yamato said slowly before he took his own turn to nudge Taichi in the ribs, smirking. “Looks like _someone’s_ burning up with all his love.”

Taichi nodded absently until what Yamato said penetrated his awe-struck mind and he sputtered, red faced again as he swatted the other boy’s shoulder. “Sh-shut up!”

“While this has been all adorable an’ everythin’,” FlaWizarmon said as he crossed his arms. “We should reaaally think about gettin’ to the temple now. The Dark Ocean’s lookin’ kinda hungry, even with its tasty snacks all wrapped in gross Darkness.”

“Ah, right,” Taichi said as he looked away, scratching his cheek as he continued to blush. “Let’s get moving - _now_.”

The assembled Chosen let out a murmur of agreement before they shifted their focus to the temple in the distance. The solemn atmosphere hung over them like a funeral procession despite their efforts to maintain morale. Despite this, the human children and their partners soldiered on, following the apparent pathway to the distant structure in this unnerving monochrome world.

The pathway to the temple proper was far more treacherous than it had been when Hikari and Black Tailmon had traveled it in her dreams. While Hikari tried to dismiss the difference as just being a matter of reality versus illusion, Black Tailmon knew far better than to give in to such naive thinking.

“The ocean is a lot bolder than it was last time,” she said as she looked over her shoulder towards the black water. Even though they were walking away from the shoreline, it was still close enough to set her hackles on edge. She immediately thought of Baihumon’s request, which did little to comfort her. “ _Did_ something happen?” She hesitated a moment to consider the possibility before a thought struck her. “Is it related to why Narakumon hasn’t said anything since…?”

Hikari held herself close, shivering as months of nightmares came back like a chill of fear running up her spine. Even as they neared the temple, she could swear she could still hear the ocean and the voices within. It distracted her to the point that her answer to her partner came after a pregnant pause. “I hope not.”

Taichi frowned and wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulder, ignoring her startled yelp as he pulled her in close. “Let’s stick close together then, just in case. Right, Lavorvomon?”

“You got it!” Lavorvomon agreed.

“We’ll just have to be careful,” Gabumon said, glancing up at Yamato as the Chosen of Friendship nodded his agreement.

Iori watched as the other Chosen glanced about anxiously as they passed a row of ornate pillars marking the border to the temple grounds, with him keeping up the rear. This area was neatly kept with a garden and the occasional statue angels and moons. It would have been lovely if not for the lack of color and the background of whispers and waves that just would not quiet down no matter how far they left the Dark Ocean behind them.

He furrowed his brow before glancing down at Armadimon, who followed beside him. While part of him wanted to voice the thought that perhaps the Light children should have stayed behind after all, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was far too late for such thinking.

Besides, it was admitting that there was yet _another_ weakness he couldn’t overcome.

Iori sighed as he closed his eyes. “Useless...”

Armadimon looked up at his partner, blinking. “I-o-ri-?”

_“Iori! Get the hell out of the way!”_

The man’s shout startled Iori out of his thoughts, stopping him dead in his tracks. It was a voice he hadn’t heard in years, chilling him to his very core. Shakily, he slowly turned to find himself staring down the muzzle of a gun aimed directly at his face, held by none other than his father - a man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a fierce glint in his brown eyes.

“D-Dad…?” Iori whispered, his chest constricting as if the air had been knocked right out of him.

The man - Hiroki - was in full police uniform, his gun trained on his son with an expression of fury. “Iori!”

“Back off or the brat dies,” the thug sneered as he stepped back, pulling Iori with him.

In an instant, Iori was a small child again, standing in the police station with Armadimon nowhere to be seen. A thug stood behind him, one arm wrapped around his throat while the other held a gun stolen from another officer. The muzzle of the gun was pressed against Iori’s temple, a silent threat that still managed to speak volumes. The thug sneered past Iori’s shoulder at his father as he tightened his arm around the boy’s neck, choking him.

Iori gagged as he reached up to grasp at the thug’s arm, trembling as tears appeared in his eyes. A terror that had haunted him every night for years flooded him all over again, like a healing wound bleeding free once the scab was torn off. He had repeated this moment in his mind so many times that it was burned into his memory.

“Damn it, Iori!” Hiroki snarled. “You useless, weak boy! How could you let this happen!?”

“I… I’m sorry,” Iori choked out as he trembled, nausea churning his stomach. “I-I’m so s-sorry-”

Before Iori could even finish his apology, the thug shifted the muzzle of the gun away from his head to aim at his father. Iori felt a hot spike of terror just before the sound of gunfire silenced his scream, and Hiroki collapsed to the ground with a spray of blood.

The thug’s arm disappeared from around Iori’s neck as he rushed towards his collapsed father, reaching out to grasp his father’s arm as he dropped to his knees. “Dad!?”

“You… you stupid brat…,” Hiroki choked out as blood leaked from his mouth. He glared up at his son with a hatred that chilled Iori to the bone. “This is all your fault… if you hadn’t been so weak…! You… _killed_ me…!”

Iori trembled as he stared down at his father, the accusation stabbing him through the heart, far more painful than anything he had ever felt before. “I-I…!”

“Is that really what happened?”

Iori gave a start and looked up sharply, surprised to find himself back to his true age as he found himself staring at a pale girl he didn’t recognize, wearing a hauntingly familiar black dress tainted by a long thin streak of light. The Chosen of Darkness looked down at him, her expression grim.

Iori furrowed his brow, tears still streaming from his cheeks. “What…?”

“Is this _really_ what happened?” Keiko repeated. “Is _this_ what you actually remember?”

“I…,” Iori fumbled for words before he furrowed his brow. “I don’t…”

Keiko turned her head to look past Iori, prompting the Chosen of Honor’s gaze to follow. As his eyes were drawn to the side where the scene replayed once again, only this time he was a bystander. The thug was holding the young Iori at gunpoint as his father confronted them, though Hiroki’s gun was aimed at the thug rather than his own son.

“Alright, just stay calm,” Hiroki said slowly, trying to keep his voice even. “No one has to get hurt.”

“Fuck you!” the thug snarled, venom dripping from every syllable.

“D-daddy…!” Iori whimpered, practically choking on his tears - and the thug’s arm as it held him by the neck.

“It’s okay, Iori,” Hiroki said, his eyes never leaving the thug’s face. “It’ll be okay.”

“Big words, pig!” the thug snarled as he jerked his arm, jostling Iori unnecessarily and briefly cutting off the child’s air. “It ain’t gonna be okay unless I _say_ it’s gonna be!”

“Just let him go,” Hiroki said. “He has nothing to do with this. Your beef is with _me_ , so-”

“Damn right it is,” the thug said.

It all happened in a second. The gun left Iori’s temple and a gunshot temporarily deafened his right ear, making his scream distant, as though it had come from someplace else, as he watched Hiroki reel back, blood blooming from his father’s chest chest like roses that scattered their petals to the winds and fell along with him.

Iori could see the moment both as an observer and in his mind’s eye as he relieved that terrible moment once again. Though he as the observer stood rigidly in place, his child self lunged towards his fallen father, breaking free from the thug’s grip while the murderer was distracted, just as a second shot rang out, followed by several more. The thug barely had the opportunity to howl in pain before he was silenced forever by Iori’s mother, Fumiko, who glared at the monster she had killed through her tears over the barrel of her gun.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Keiko said as she watched the scene, then turned to the trembling young man at her side as the scene around them faded away into darkness. “There was nothing you could do, and he never blamed you for it.”

“If… if I had been stronger, I… I could have-!” Iori hissed as he clutched at the front of his shirt, digging his nails into the fabric. “I could have done _something_ -!”

“You were a little boy,” Keiko said lowly. “What exactly do you think you could have done?”

“I…” Iori couldn’t answer. It was a question he had asked himself so many times, and yet he could never come up with anything. No matter how many times he replayed the scene, it was always the same. “I could have…”

“If you had fought back, he would have shot you,” Keiko said, her expression flattening.

“Better that than him killing my father!” Iori snarled as he twisted the fabric of his shirt. “At least then, I…!”

“Would be dead,” Keiko finished for him in a voice as unyielding as stone.

Iori closed his eyes, attempting to block out the scene in front of him even as he replayed it in his mind.

“Then you’d be torturing yourself with guilt from _this_ side,” Keiko said, her red eyes piercing Iori like a blazing fire as she loomed over him, hovering several centimeters above the ground as her black hair whipped about in a phantom breeze. “You’d be watching your mother and father and everyone else you love agonize over your death, suffering from endless nightmares and regrets. You’ll want to talk to them and reassure them that it’s better you than them, but you can’t. All you can do is watch them cry and blame themselves for failing you and tell themselves that _you_ think they deserve to go to hell as much as they believe they deserve it!”

Iori flinched at Keiko’s words, crumpling a little further as she went until he was on his knees, head bowed by the end of her speech. When all was quiet again, he opened his eyes, casting his gaze down at the ground before him. His father’s corpse stared back up at him, glaring at him with eyes that never belonged to Hiroki, before it dissolved into data and drifted upwards, disappearing into the darkness.

“It’s hell,” Keiko said as she drifted back to the ground, her voice quieting to something that was almost gentle. “It’s hell when you play a part in the death of someone important to you. It’s hell when _you’re_ dead and the people you love wish it was them instead.” She reached out a placed her hand atop his shoulder, and he flinched at the cold he felt there. “I’ve been on both sides. There was no ‘better’ outcome if they all end in someone _dead_.”

Iori remained quiet for several moments before he released his grip on his shirt, allowing his hands to fall down to his lap limply. “I don’t… want to lose anyone… not again…”

“Then stop pushing them away,” Keiko said, “and don’t lose yourself. Start by letting them help you for once.”

Iori blinked at that before he looked up at Keiko. “What?”

The answer to his question didn’t come from Keiko, who suddenly vanished along with the dark void. Instead, it came from the vision of black water, grasping hands, and gray sand as familiar shouts pierced the air, screaming his name.

A white ferret Digimon Iori didn’t recognize dashed around him, adorned with a gold ring around her neck and golden markings on her back similar to computer circuitry. She lunged at his lower half with a battle cry, and he saw, to his horror, that his legs were held captive by dozens of deformed black hands that were clawing their way up his body. The second the Digimon reached them, however, the hands let out an unholy shriek as everywhere the ferret tore and bit bubbled and dissolved, evaporating into wisps of unsettling greasy black smoke.

Iori’s head swam as he reeled in confusion and fear, realizing that he wasn’t standing, but lying prone in a trench of sand that had been dug from his body being dragged dangerously close to the Dark Ocean. “What-?”

“Iori!” Miyako’s voice screamed by Iori’s ear, prompting the Chosen of Honor to jerk and whip his head about just in time to see her seize him around the chest, trying to drag him away from the Dark Ocean - or at least anchor him so that he wasn’t pulled into its depths. "Iori! _Snap out of it already_!"

Iori could only manage an unintelligent noise of confusion, as everything played out around him out of his control like a bad dream.

“Get back!” the floating ferret Digimon, Kudamon, snapped as she dove at the grabbing hands, tearing many apart and forcing others to retreat back into the ocean with ghastly, inhuman wails of pain. “Yeah, that’s right! You _better_!”

“You will stay away from I-o-ri!” Armadimon snarled as he rushed at the Dark Ocean and attacked at its grasping fingers. Though he was successful in forcing the hands back, they did not retreat or cry out as loudly as they did to Kudamon’s attacks. “Or I will _punish_ you!”

“Back off!” FlaWizarmon snarled as he swirled his matchsticks burning with black flames at the water, which drew back reluctantly. You opportunistic _basta-_!”

A sudden shrill scream of a chorus of countless voices filled with fear cut him off before he finished his insult. Stilling his matchsticks mid-swing, he stared, dumbfounded, as the water retreated. “What?!”

The ephemeral form of Nyamon ran across the shore in front of FlaWizarmon to join Kudamon and Armadimon, the hands immediately recoiling as she drew close. The cat Digimon glared at the Dark Ocean as she crouched in front of Iori, forcing the damned souls to retreat.

“What… what happened?” Iori asked shakily, his voice distant as though waking up from a deep slumber. In the unsettling calm that followed, he saw his comrades, the rest of the Chosen, plus Witchmon rushing to gather around him. Fumbling, he grabbed onto Miyako, leaning against her and gathering his bearings as she brought him back to his feet.

Keiko faded into existence at Iori’s side, her expression severe on her translucent face. “The Dark Ocean called you, and you answered.”

Iori stared at Keiko, slowly trying to process what she had said. Visions of what he had just seen flickered through his mind, causing pain to spike in his heart before he furrowed his brow. “So that was… the Dark Ocean?”

Armadimon hurried over to his partner’s side. “The Dark Ocean suddenly lunged close and grabbed you by your legs. I tried to stop it from dragging you into the waters but I couldn’t do it myself, and Miyako came to help me!” The excitement bled from his rushed explanation as his body drooped, a his face falling and his voice quieting in shame. “I-o-ri, I… I promise I’ll get stronger, so I can protect you better myself!”

Iori stared at Armadimon. The words his partner spoke created a new stab in his heart, as they mirrored his own words he spoke to himself endlessly.

“Don’t you dare blame Armadimon!” Kudamon said as she puffed up, crossing her arms indignantly.

“N-no, never,” Iori said softly as he reached down to touch his partner’s cheeks, falling to his knees as he drew closer even as Miyako kept a firm hold on him. “It’s okay to need help, Armadimon.” He reached out and picked up Armadimon, closing his eyes as he pressed his forehead against his partner’s forehead, prompting Armadimon to close his own eyes in return. “You’re much braver than I, because you are willing to _ask_. That’s something I need to… get better at. I need to… _fix_.” The Chosen of Honor opened his eyes to offer his partner a weak smile before he turned to share it with Miyako. “I can’t… fix all my weaknesses, but that one… _that_ one is within my power.”

Miyako lightly cuffed Iori in the shoulder. “Good.” After reaffirming her hold on him, she tugged her friend back onto his feet. “Now don’t you dare scare me like that again, you hear me? I almost had a heart attack!”

“It all happened pretty fast,” Takeru said as he slowly approached, mindful of the shore. “Out of nowhere, Armadimon was screaming for help, then Miyako dove in… and suddenly Pafumon evolved _twice_ and started diving at the water.”

“Is… is that so?” Iori said as he looked up at Kudamon before he turned to Armadimon.

Miyako seized Iori in a hug. She half-formed some wry retort in her head, but she couldn’t quite get it to come out as casually and cocky as she wanted it to, leaving her without comment as she held her best friend close with a small shiver running through her as the last few minutes began to settle in. A shuddering breath escaped her and after a final squeeze, she straightened up. “Let’s go inside and as far away from the ocean as we can. _Now_.”

Iori gave a small nod. “I agree.”

Nyamon watched Iori and Miyako have their moment as she placed her gauntlets on her hips. A glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye had her glance at where the children gathered at a slight, but respectful distance. Unfortunately, that served as a distraction that invited the ocean to creep up from behind, creeping ever closer to where Hikari stood pressed behind Taichi’s back. “Hikari!”

Hikari didn’t need to look. She could feel its presence behind her. Since they stepped into the Dark World, she could feel the Dark Ocean creeping towards her, even if she couldn’t see it. It was more oppressive than her dreams, the tension mounting from its presence the longer she remained there. Seeing it take Iori, even if only briefly, left her shaking, breathing fast and shallow until she was left lightheaded.

Which meant the moment that she heard Nyamon shout her name with such panic, the tension in her snapped. “Run!” she screamed as she fled blindly stumbling only because she caught Taichi and Sora off-guard by her desperate attempts grab them, the closest people to her, drag them along out of danger.

Yamato managed to react quickly, racing past Hikari to get between his friends and the creeping limbs and faces that crawled towards them at an alarming pace. Heart hammering in his chest, he braced himself for the Dark Ocean to strike him with its full horrific fury.

However, Gabumon moved faster still, making sure that whatever was coming for Yamato would have to take him down first.

The waters crested before they would have struck Gabumon or Yamato, the limbs and mouths contorting with a wail of resent and spite. Faces without eyes glared at the pair as they stood ready for battle before creeping slowly, reluctantly, back towards the Dark Ocean.

Gabumon furrowed his brow, confusion warring with the creeping chill he felt when the damned souls came close. “It… really is afraid of us.”

“It’s afraid of _Darkness_ ,” Nyamon said as she gave a snap of her tail.

Hikari slowed down when the danger seemed to pass. Panting, she turned to Taichi and Sora, an apology on her lips, only for cold hands to press into her back and turn her breathless words into a startled yelp.

“We’ll talk in the temple!” Keiko shouted as she forced Hikari to keep moving forward with what little pressure her ghostly form could force on a member of the living. “You’re not safe here! Move! Move! _Move!_ ”

Hikari shivered from both Keiko’s warning and the bone-chilling cold of the spirit’s hands sunken into her back, but obeyed without hesitation.

No one wanted to argue, all eager to escape the looming threat. They kept looking back towards the Dark Ocean as it dragged itself on twisted limbs further and further along the sand. Hikari, especially, had trouble not looking back, but every time she did, Keiko’s intense red eyes met hers and silently forced her to face forward again.

The trip to the temple passed in a blur for the Chosen. They barely had time to notice the details of the outer courtyard before they found themselves in a large entryway. The inside of the temple was far more grandiose than the outside, but the children could scarcely appreciate it underneath the lingering dread, while the Chosen Digimon prickled with paranoia and tension as they stuck close to their respective partners.

For a long moment, there was only the sound of heavy breathing and the echoes of the massive doors slamming shut behind them.

Only in the relative safety of the temple did Miyako finally release Iori from her ironclad grasp, searching his body and tugging at his clothing to expose skin without reservation. “Okay, where’s the taint. That shit touched you, so there’s got to be taint!”

Iori blinked as he watched Miyako frisk him without comment, checking his body for discoloration.

“You got to it quickly enough,” Nyamon said as she came to stand beside Miyako. “I’m sure you were too busy to notice, but Kudamon was burning it away at the same time she was attacking the Dark Ocean. It didn’t have time to settle.”

Miyako only stopped her inspection when she had searched as many places on Iori’s person that she could without outright stripping him. She gazed at Nyamon and only after she was satisfied in what she saw in the feline’s expression did she finally wilt against Iori. “Oh thank God. I _really_ didn’t want to see what that crap inside your head would do to you.”

“Nor I,” Iori said, softly. “Not after seeing what it’s capable of, I have no desire to repeat... that.”

“The longer a person is tainted, the harder it is on them to burn it away,” Keiko said in a somber tone as she approached Takeru, not quite meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I didn’t notice _yours_ when I first saw you. I didn’t realize Ken-chan would use pieces of the Dark Ocean like that… If I did, I would’ve cured you myself before I sent you away.”

Takeru blinked before he offered Keiko a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. There really wasn’t any way for you to know, and you obviously had to get me out of there quickly. I’m only now realizing just how much danger I was in at that moment, so I’m really grateful for what you did.” His smile became wry, somewhat teasing. “Even if it meant slapping some sense into me.”

Keiko gave a faintly crooked smile in return, but there was little humor in it. “I wasn’t just trying to snap you out of its call. I had to throw all of my strength into pushing you out of the Dark World, or I couldn’t affect you at all.” She demonstrated by brushing her hand against - then briefly into - Takeru’s cheek, leaving only an impression of immense cold before she pulled away to gave a helpless shrug. “Being dead gives me a lot of new metaphysical abilities, but it’s incredibly hard to do anything _physical_.”

“That… makes sense,” Takeru said, furrowing his brow as he tried not to shiver from the touch. Keiko had to overcome her incorporeal form, so focusing all her efforts on her hand was the only solution. The fact that it even worked at all was something to be grateful for.

“Is that why our D-Terminals crash when you email us?” Koshiro asked, more than eager to get his mind off the Dark Ocean. In spite of this, his eyes kept lingering to the temple door, half-expecting to see dark hands clawing their way inside at any moment.

Again, Keiko shrugged, unfazed by Koshiro’s inattention. “I can’t type a normal email, so the best I can do is use Darkness to write a message and try to trigger programs on your D-Terminals so you can read them. It’s… harder than it looks to send those emails.” She paused, her narrow gaze shifting to Hikari as her anger frayed away the edges of her composure. “Especially to you. What the _hell_ were you thinking coming here?”

The attention finally snapped Hikari back to the present as she met Keiko’s furious gaze. Though their reunion hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped, she hadn’t expected the ghost girl to snap at her. “Ke-”

Miyako instantly rounded on Keiko, eyes blazing. “Okay, since you’ve got the answers, I’ve got a question - how the _hell_ could the Dark Ocean grab Iori like that? He was supposed to be safe! He had a Darkness armor on him!” She jabbed a pointing finger toward Armadimon.

Keiko paused, cheek twitching, before she shifted her gaze reluctantly from Hikari to acknowledge Miyako and her important question. “The Dark Ocean called and Iori answered.”

“I heard that, but that doesn’t answer my damn question!” Miyako snapped, frustrated by the vague wording. “Are we safe here or aren’t we!?

“ _You_ are,” Keiko said, meeting Miyako’s gaze cooly. “Unless you give in to self-loathing and think you deserve to disappear. Then, not all the Darkness in the world will protect you from the Dark Ocean. Doubting yourself, _hating_ yourself gives it strength, because, at the end of the day, that’s what it is. It’s a festering ball of hate towards the fact that we still exist.”

Iori grimaced and looked away, fidgeting. He couldn’t meet Miyako’s gaze when she turned to stare at him, his expression alone confirming the pressing question on her lips before it was even asked. He at least had the courage not to verbally offer any sort of denial, even if he couldn’t answer.

Miyako curled her fingers into tight balls, fists shaking as her body went rigid. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing down her emotions as best she could to keep a level head. “Okay.” She flexed her hands, ignoring the line of pain drawn across her palms by the pressure of her fingernails. “Okay… you’re going back to the tower, Iori. Anyone else who doubts themselves should too.”

While pride demanded he refuse Miyako’s order, the fear, the anguish Iori suffered from the vision the Dark Ocean inflicted on him made him nod in agreement. “I… I think that would be best.” He had to force each word out of his mouth, as they turned to bile on his tongue.

Taichi looked over at Hikari, but he already knew how things would play out if he spoke his fears. “I’m still going.” He took his sister’s hand in his then Sora’s in the other and squeezed them both. “I’m not going to let the Dark Ocean in.”

“No, just tempt the hell out of it,” Keiko snarled, her anger resurging like a kettle boiling over, but her angry gaze was focused on Hikari rather than Taichi. “Do you have _any_ idea how much danger you’re in?” She threw her arm out in a broad sweeping gesture. “How much _they’re_ in!?”

Hikari cringed back from the shouting, but held her ground. “I… I do. _We_ do. We came knowing-”

“ _You don’t know anything!_ ” Keiko shrieked as she threw her arms up into the air before thrusting a pointed finger at Hikari’s face. “You’re the one the Dark Ocean wants! If it eats you, _the worlds die_!”

The statement rang out like a gunshot, shocking the Chosen and bringing their focus solidly on their dead comrade. Hikari in particular went completely rigid, her eyes flying open wide as her pupils shank to pinpricks. “What?” she barely squeaked out.

“That’s why Iori was attacked,” Nyamon said, a stern scowl on her face. “Because of you. Because it wanted to _get_ to you.”

Black Tailmon frowned. “We understand that it’s trying to manipulate her, but if we just-”

“The Dark Ocean started coming in the second you came here,” Keiko said, completely ignoring Black Tailmon’s protest as she began pacing in front of Hikari. “The entire reason the Dark Ocean tainted Ken-chan and Takeru was to get to _you_. The nightmares it sent through their connection to you were to lure you into listening to its call and coming here so it can eat you! If it has you, it has a direct access to the source of Light for the entire Digital World, plus a connection to the human world, and it can do what Zeed did and turn that power into its own! Once that happens, it’ll flood both worlds and eat _everyone_!”

“You are basically gambling with the lives of _billions_ of people,” Nyamon said. “Humans, Digimon, _everyone…_ just by being here.”

Hikari couldn’t speak, too aghast to even utter a single syllable. She had nothing to retort to this new horrifying revelation; Keiko knew far more about the nature of the Dark Ocean than she did.

Even Black Tailmon could do little more than stare, her ears canting back as the full weight of their actions slowly settled in with the grace of a falling concrete block.

“Are… are you serious?” Taichi eventually managed to croak out, reminding Hikari that it wasn’t just her who had been shaken by the revelation. Her brother and all of their friends stood just as pale and horrified by the idea that they had come so close to the end of the world. Worse, they would have played an unintentional part of it.

Keiko nodded, her eyes never leaving Hikari. “As serious as my death.”

Hikari flinched back as though struck, the pain piercing her heart bringing stinging tears to the corners of her eyes. “I… I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know…!”

“We’ve got to get Hikari out of here right now before the Dark Ocean gets in here too,” Taichi interrupted as he seized his little sister by the arm. “How can we get back to the door?”

Keiko sucked in a breath, or rather pantomimed the act, as she visibly forced herself to reign in her emotions. “Right now, we’re safe,” she said after a pause, her words measured. “The Dark Ocean _cannot_ get into this temple. Even if it consumed the rest of the Dark World, the temple itself and everything inside would remain.”

“The outside of the temple on the other hand…” Nyamon gestured towards the nearest window.

The children immediately started to gather around the tall thin windows lining the walls near the door to look outside, only to see an entire ocean of gray water as far as the eye could see lapping at the glass. There were no ornate pillars, no hint of the doorway leading to Crystal Tower; there was nothing below the gray sky but water and waves.

“Wait,” Takeru murmured as he hurried to the window. “Are we underwater-!?”

“The Dark Ocean has us surrounded,” Nyamon said. “Forcing you to confront it if you want to leave. It’s being _extremely_ brazen, as this is the only opportunity it has with Narakumon unable to intervene.”

“You just noticed, huh?” FlaWizarmon asked as he leaned against a pillar, his arms crossed. “The Dark Ocean came rushin’ the second we entered the temple.”

“Don’t worry, dearies,” Witchmon said, though the slight quiver in her voice was the furthest thing from reassuring. “This happens all the time down here… more or less. The Dark Ocean’s tide comes in when it thinks it can snatch someone up. I suppose the amount of you here is too much of a temptation…”

“It’ll retreat once it gets a good taste of Darkness,” FlaWizarmon said. “Obviously, once we head outside, we’ll be needing Friendship-kun, Passion Darlin’, and Love Darlin’ to lead the way.”

Keiko let out a dry rattle of a laugh that held no humor or breath to it. “You two… you really have been gone a long time. It’s _worse_ than it used to be. So… so much worse. Even if it does retreat now, it’ll just wait for another opportunity, for you to drop your guard. And you all want to go _into_ it.” She barked out another empty laugh before focusing on Monodramon, who was gawking out one of the windows. “No matter what you’ve got in mind to keep it at bay, it won’t be enough, not when the thing it wants the most is right _here_.”

Hikari swallowed hard and wet her lips, but she couldn’t alleviate the dry feeling scratching at her throat. “Even… even if I go back, won’t it just keep going after Takeru and my brother?”

“It would,” Nyamon said. “But it wouldn’t be as catastrophic if it had been you. Not to say that it wouldn’t be bad,” She turned to give Taichi and Takeru a small smirk before she focused on Hikari. “But _they_ can be purged. _You_ , on the other hand…”

“But I can’t?” Hikari asked shakily.

Keiko touched her forehead. “You won’t be tainted, you will be _eaten_.” A haunted look passed her features as a shudder ran through her. “Trust me. I spent a long, long time sitting on that shore. The Dark Ocean is not one for keeping its plans secret. It wants you so… so badly.” She rubbed her trembling arms in a futile gesture alleviate a chill that went beyond temperature or a physical body to feel it.

“There would be nothing left _to_ purge,” Nyamon said. “Not a hand, not a hair, not a _scrap_.” She narrowed her eyes. “The only reason it didn’t kill Ken-chan was because he was more valuable alive - as a means to get you. It’s the same for Taichi, Takeru, and Iori. But you… it will _not_ hesitate.”

The nightmares started to replay in Hikari’s mind, of drowning in that Dark Ocean; the laughter, crying, screaming and invasive feelings that were not her own that tore her apart. Now she understood with all too terribly clarity - it wasn’t just a terrifying vision of what happened to those who were taken by the Dark Ocean, but the dearest wish of whatever passed for its collective will. Such a revelation brought bile crawling up her parched throat and left her weak, relying more on Taichi’s grip on her than her own feet to keep her standing.

“In other words,” Takeru said slowly. “Baihumon was wrong. Even the Digimental of Darkness can’t keep Hikari safe here.”

“The Holy Beasts have _no_ idea how the Dark Ocean truly works,” Nyamon said with a snort. “They’ve always left it up to Narakumon to deal with. They have only the barest of understandings, the absolute basics. If they had known what the Dark Ocean was fully capable of, that stupid Sparrow would _never_ have sent his Devas here in the first place. Their deaths are on _his_ head.”

“Wait, you were there!?” Yamato asked as he turned to Nyamon. “You saw what happened when they tried to rescue Ryo?”

Nyamon hesitated before her ears canted back, looking away as she crossed her arms. It took her a long moment before she finally answered in a quiet, subdued tone. “I saw them being dragged into the water. _Screaming_ as they were being torn apart.”

“How… how can I get out of here?” Hikari whispered, her voice trembling. She tried to remain strong, brave, but she couldn’t take much more of this, not when her very presence put them all at risk.

“Don’t worry, hon,” Witchmon said soothingly as she floated over to Hikari and rubbed the quaking girl’s shoulders. “I’ll warp you and everyone else who wants out, outta here like ‘that’.” She snapped her fingers. “Just say the word. We don’t have to go outside again if you want to back out.”

“It sounded like you wanted to send Honor-kun back, too,” FlaWizarmon said. “She can take you and him out, an’ _anyone_ else who ain’t feelin’ too comfortable right now. You won’t even have to say so much as ‘boo’ to the Dark Ocean ever again.”

Hikari placed a hand to her forehead. “I… this is my fault. If I wasn’t here, the Dark Ocean…”

“Hey, hey,” Taichi said before wrapping an arm around Hikari’s waist and pulling his sister into a hug. “You didn’t know. None of us knew. But it’s okay. Nothing bad happened, and we’re not gonna let it happen.”

“I’m just as much fault for encouraging you,” Black Tailmon said with a shake of her head. “I didn’t fully understand it, either. If anyone is to blame…”

“You can’t know what you’re not told,” Nyamon said.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Hikari,” Keiko said quietly, guilt seeping into her expression upon seeing just how shaken up Hikari was by her words. “It’s just… you have no idea how scared I was when I found out you were coming. I would’ve sent a message and warned you… but my power is still recovering right now.”

“Right, so Hikari and Iori are heading back,” Miyako said as she fixed the Chosen of Honor with a stare, daring him to argue. Her expression only softened a little when she saw no argument forthcoming.

“I think Mimi should go too,” Jou said. When she turned to stare at him in protest, Jou immediately raised his hands. “I-I mean, it’s just…”

“I agree with Jou,” Sora said. She gave Mimi a gentle smile. “You’ve done enough, Mimi. We made you do far more than your own fair share, forcing you to fight for us when we couldn’t. You’ve had to endure a lot of pain because of us and so I think… it’s totally unfair to force you to do this, as well. Especially _here_ , with _this_.”

At first, Mimi felt relieved at the excuse, but then guilt swept in and slammed her hard. “But… but I took the extra Darkness Digimental… So… I… Algomon and I should stay.” She looked anxiously at her partner.

“I’ll do whatever you want, Mimi,” Algomon said.

“I’d feel better if you watched out for Iori and Hikari,” Sora said. “Especially after what just happened. And I can’t watch them myself.”

“Well… o-okay,” Mimi muttered, her guilt only growing along with her relief. “I’ll give someone else the Digimental. We could use all the Darkness we can get right now.” She paused for a moment before muttering to herself. “Never thought I’d say something like _that_.”

Black Tailmon glanced at Hikari before she turned to Keiko, furrowing her brow. “What if… I stay in Hikari’s place. Would that be okay? Would I endanger her?”

Keiko shook her head. “Not as long as you keep that armor evolution on. It can’t taint you like that. Besides, even if you didn’t have it, if you were killed and eaten, the Dark Ocean can’t keep you. You’ll just be reborn next to Hikari again.”

“Good,” Black Tailmon said. It felt strange to say that such a prospect was _good_ , but it was far better than the alternative. She turned to Hikari, offering her a weak smile. “Then I’ll work twice as hard for the both of us, so we can rescue Ryo.”

Hikari tried to smile back, but could only manage a feeble twitch of her mouth. The reminder of her partner’s death coupled with memories of nightmares didn’t help the fear pooling in her gut. Only the promise that Black Tailmon would return no matter what made her okay enough to nod, consenting to the idea.

“What about me?” Takeru asked. “You said I’d just be tainted, right?” He quickly brought up a hand to point at Yamato, who was about to argue. “Didn’t ask you, I asked _her_.”

Yamato scowled as he crossed his arms. “So you think acknowledging my complaints will make them go away?”

Keiko ran a hand across her face, but reluctantly nodded. “Yes. As long as the Dark Ocean doesn’t have Hikari, it’ll find you more useful as a puppet. Ken-chan practically waded into it the first time, yet it didn’t eat him. It could have.” Her gaze drifted somewhere far into the distance. “It’s eaten others for less.”

“You’ll be here, so I’m not worried,” Takeru said as he glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. He gave a small grin when he noticed how Yamato was unable to hide a twinge of happiness at his words. “Besides, I’ve had experience before so I know what to expect this time.”

Keiko directed a finger at Yamato. “The second anyone gets a splash of taint, you purge it.” She dragged her finger out to focus on Sora then Miyako. “I don’t have enough power in me right now to kick any of you out _or_ cure taint, so you have to do it if it happens again.”

Miyako nodded as she briefly glanced at Iori before focusing back on Keiko. “So, I take it that means you’re going in with us?”

Keiko gestured to her faintly translucent body. “It can’t eat me _or_ kill me; I know more about it than any of you; most importantly, this mission is to save Ryo. I’m going.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Taichi said after a moment as he straightened up, rallying against the fear still plaguing him and his friends. “We’ve got to get Ryo out of there.”

Koshiro took a deep breath and straightened up as he gathered his courage. “We’ve come too far to back out now.” He glanced at his partner. “Right, Tentomon?”

Tentomon nodded. “Right, Koshiro.”

“I’m staying,” Daisuke said, raising his voice as he held up his Digivice as though to ward off any protests. “I’ll take Mimi’s Digimental so-”

“ _Miyako’s_ Digimental,” Kudamon said primly.

“...Miyako’s Digimental,” Daisuke amended. “So I’ll be fine.”

Keiko stared at Daisuke with narrowing eyes, making him squirm under the scrutiny. “No.”

Daisuke jerked as though struck. “W-wait, I’m not gonna-”

“You hate yourself,” Keiko said, the words falling from her mouth with the impact of a stone. “You’re one step away from answering the Dark Ocean.”

Daisuke stepped back from the emotional blow, his mouth going dry. He shook his head in denial, but he could only stammer out half-words.

“Daisuke!?” Hikari gasped, horrified, as she stared at Daisuke with wide, haunted eyes.

“It wouldn’t make Ken happy if you became tainted - or worse,” Nyamon said. “It wouldn’t fix anything.”

Daisuke flinched. “B-but, I…”

“You screwed up with Ken-chan,” Keiko said, her face an impassive mask. “I _know_.”

Somehow, that hurt Daisuke worse than anything else. The dead girl, one of Ken’s oldest and dearest friends, had a way of seeing things happen anywhere, and the revelation that she watched him tear that dear friend apart was devastating. It only further proved to him how lothesome a person he truly was.

It also made the whispers that had been in the background since their arrival grow louder, drowning out everything else.

Keiko shoved her hand in Daisuke’s face, causing him to shriek and scramble back with a yelp at the intense cold and unnatural sensation. Although it hadn’t hurt, the sensation was terrifying and startling all the same. “You didn’t hear anything I just said, did you?”

“Wh-wh-what?” Daisuke stammered.

“D-Daisuke!?” V-mon blurted out as he rushed to his partner’s side, grabbing his arm.

“ _Those_ thoughts are what we’re talking about,” Nyamon said with a snap of her tail.

Keiko placed a hand on her forehead, as if even ghosts could get stress headaches. “I was just telling you that I know you screwed up, but I did, too, years ago.” She locked eyes with Daisuke, placing her cold hands on, and then _through_ his shoulders to keep his attention fixed solely on her. “As long as you realize the mistake you made and sincerely wish to redeem yourself, then you _can_ make this up to Ken-chan. You _can_ eventually be his friend again. But you can’t _if the Dark Ocean consumes you_.”

Daisuke barely kept himself from stepping back this time, his body quaking from the cold seeping deep into him far beyond the senses of his body. Words failed him, his feelings almost overwhelming, but, ultimately, he managed a slight nod.

“Daisuke,” Iori said softly, prompting the Chosen of Tenacity to look at him. “I understand that there is a time when a man must do something for himself. But… I’m also slowly learning that there is also a time when a man must recognize that he is hurting himself, and by extension those important to him. If not for yourself, or Ken, or everyone else that cares for you… consider how V-mon feels.”

“I-I’m fine!” V-mon blurted out then glared at Iori as he gripped Daisuke’s arm tightly. “Daisuke doesn’t need to worry about me! He’s not hurting me, so don’t imply he is!”

“V-mon…,” Daisuke murmured, his voice rasping through his dry throat.

Keiko smiled faintly at V-mon as she released Daisuke. “You’re a good partner. Keep working on getting Daisuke through this. I believe in you.”

“Of course!” V-mon said forcefully. “I’ll always support Daisuke! _Always_!”

“I know you will,” Keiko said softly before she looked fondly at her own partner who met her gaze with equal affection in return.

“Thanks, V-mon,” Daisuke said softly, trying to smile at his partner, but only with minor success. “I guess… I guess we’re sitting this one out.”

Taichi approached Daisuke from behind and squeezed the younger boy’s shoulder, bringing back some of the warmth Keiko had stolen from him. “Hey, you’re doing the right thing.” He flashed Daisuke a crooked grin when their eyes met. “Just save up your energy for the next one.”

Daisuke nodded as he adjusted his hold on V-mon, transferring his partner into his arms properly in a discreet hug. “I-I will.”

“Well, guess that means I’ll be taking Passion,” Gomamon said as he glanced up at his partner with a grin.

“I’m fine with that as long as Kudamon is,” Miyako said as she cocked her head towards her partner.

“It’s fine, it’s fiiine,” Kudamon said as she twirled in the air. “I’m being generous to the less fortunate - i.e. everyone who is not me.”

“That sounds like _my_ line,” Gomamon said as he flashed Kudamon a grin.

Witchmon cleared her throat loudly enough for it to echo faintly off the high temple ceiling, cutting off further conversation. “Dearies… Pardon me for interrupting your plans, but…”

“Who the heck are ya’ll talkin’ to?” FlaWizarmon asked as he tilted his head, finishing his partner’s sentence. “I mean, maybe we’re just goin’ crazy but… it looks like ya’ll are having a pretty deep, pretty interestin’ conversation... with absolutely friggin’ nobody.”

Nyamon paused at that before her expression became crestfallen. She glanced to Keiko, her ears drooping.

Keiko closed her eyes and bowed her head.

“You can’t see her?” Mimi asked, looking from Keiko and Nyamon and back to FlaWizarmon and Witchmon. “I mean, she’s kind of see through, but still…” She tried not to shiver at that little detail. Having a ghost right there in front of her was terrifying, regardless of the circumstances, though she berated herself for it.

“Her who?” FlaWizarmon asked with a blink.

“I-I don’t see anyone, either,” Monodramon chirped in as he raised his claw like a student answering a teacher, then immediately fidgeted. “I-I mean, n-not that you asked me, b-but…”

“Keiko,” Hikari answered softly.

FlaWizarmon and Witchmon froze as a wide array of emotions played across their faces, raging from surprise and anger to pain and befuddlement. After several moments of silence, the two Digimon looked at each other before returning their attention to the Chosen Children.

“Keiko,” FlaWizarmon said, his voice stiff. “Yer sayin’... yer talkin’ to Keiko. _Keiko_ is here. That is what yer sayin’.”

“Keiko Ryuzaki,” Witchmon said, as though it needed clarification. “Our Lady Darkness is here? Right _here_?” She directed her finger unnecessarily towards the ground.

“And Nyamon,” Takeru said before he moved his arm to point directly at the ephemeral Digimon, who watched the two sadly. “Keiko and Nyamon are here.”

Monodramon blinked as his eyes widened. “Y-you mean the Chosen of Darkness? B-but wait, isn’t she-”

“ _Don’t say it._ ” FlaWizarmon barked, his voice sharp as a knife. Monodramon flinched and wilted, quickly moving to hide behind the closest Chosen Child - in this case, Takeru.

“Please,” Witchmon said in a strained attempt at gentleness. “Please don’t… don’t ever say those words to us.”

Monodramon hesitated as he peeked out from behind Takeru before he gave a nod.

Hikari felt her heart twist painfully, aching for FlaWizarmon and Witchmon, but more so for Keiko and Nyamon. She turned to the ghostly pair, her eyes damp with tears she fought to keep down. “Keiko, if…”

Hikari trailed off as a glint of light caught her eye. For the first time, she focused her attention not on Keiko’s face, but on the ghost’s body, and saw a faint glow marking Keiko; a jagged white line that went from her left thigh and ended below her right armpit. With all the anger and fear running hot earlier, she hadn’t really noticed it, but now the scar was all she could see. “Keiko! What happened to you!?”

Grimacing, Keiko looked down at herself, a finger lightly tracing the glowing edge that bisected her ethereal form. “Someone used Light to cut me open to take Ken-chan from me.”

A hand flew to Hikari’s mouth as she choked, aghast. “ _What_!?”

“Wait, what does that mean?!” Takeru asked as he quickly moved to Keiko, causing Monodramon to squeak and quickly follow lest he lose his cover. “To cut you open!?”

“Keiko was protecting Ken from the Dark Ocean,” Nyamon said with a snap of her tail. “Literally.”

Keiko closed her eyes, wilting under the stares directed her way. “I tried… I _tried_ to send him back, but Ken-chan wanted to… to…!” She looked away, choking on her words. It took her a moment to compose herself so that she could continue. “The Dark Ocean was coming for him. I… I couldn’t let it taint him again. I just couldn’t. Not again. So I did what I could to keep it from touching him.”

“She gave up even being a ghost and used her very soul to become Ken’s shield,” Nyamon said gravely, her tail lashing harshly back and forth in a clear display of her feelings. “For weeks, it was like she no longer existed at all.”

Keiko reached out to her partner, scooping Nyamon up into her arms in a silent apology for the pain she caused her dearest friend.

“Wait, what’s this… about Keiko and _cutting_?” FlaWizarmon snapped in, stepping towards the group and looming over the children. “What’s happening?”

“Keiko said that she was shielding Ken from the Dark Ocean, literally,” Yamato said, his expression deeply unnerved as he stared at Keiko - specifically the white ‘cut’ of energy upon her. “But then someone cut her open.”

FlaWizarmon stared at Yamato for a moment before his eyes widened, a flicker of terrible, merciless understanding appearing on his face. “Oh God, so that was…!?”

Witchmon held a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with pupils the size of pinpricks as she stared at FlaWizarmon in horror that she could not give voice to.

Miyako’s eyes narrowed with suspicion at the pair. “You know something about this, don’t you.”

FlaWizarmon was silent for a moment, glancing to Witchmon to confirm that she shared his thoughts. After a moment, he turned back to the Chosen Children. “…Kaiser-kun said that when he escaped the Dark Ocean, he…” He faltered before grasping front of his shirt tight, as if grabbing his heart. “He had to use the Crest of Kindness to, ah, _cut_ his way out… of a large black sphere of Darkness that had him trapped.”

“Oh no,” Hikari breathed, aghast. She turned back to Keiko, her expression almost frantic. “He didn’t mean it, Keiko! There, there’s no way that Ken-”

“It’s fine,” Keiko interrupted with a surprising level of calm, the tension smoothing out of her features as a small smile quirked the corners of her lips. “Actually, that makes me feel relieved. If it was Ken-chan saving himself from the Dark Ocean, then that means I helped him recover.” She sighed softly, her eyes fluttering closed as her voice dropped to a near whisper. “Thank Papa and Mama…”

FlaWizarmon trembled as he tightened his grip around his shirt, digging into the fabric and squeezing his chest underneath. He choked on his words, struggling for something, _anything_ to say, but all that came out were broken syllables strained with emotion. Witchmon did not fare any better.

“Keiko says she’s fine with that,” Miyako said, raising her voice a bit to try and cut through the feelings overwhelming FlaWizarmon and Witchmon to prevent an all out panic attack of epic proportions. “She says she’s glad Ken saved himself and is doing better.” She paused for a moment, then shrugged. “I’d probably feel the same way if I did something like that for Iori, to be honest.”

FlaWizarmon faltered before he closed his eyes, trying to get his breathing under control. After a moment, he let out a deep breath and opened his eyes as he turned to Witchmon. “We can’t tell Ken-chan.”

Witchmon shook her head frantically, her voice coming out muffled from behind her hands. “Never. _Never_.”

“Yeah,” Daisuke muttered in spite of himself, not looking at anyone. “Ken doesn’t need more shit piled on him.”

Witchmon shot Daisuke withering glance at the corner of her eye, but held her tongue.

Nyamon watched the exchange with a frown before she turned to Hikari. “It’s not a permanent injury, so don’t worry about that. We’ll be getting it taken care of as soon as we can.”

Keiko set Nyamon back down onto the floor at her side and met Hikari’s worried gaze with her resolute one. “You don’t have to… you _shouldn’t_ worry about the dead. You’re the ones in danger, not us. Not me.”

“Don’t forget, you’re here for Ryo,” Nyamon said.

“Not me,” Keiko repeated with a wry crook of her mouth. “Besides, I’m _dead_. You can’t exactly heal me.”

Hikari couldn’t help but approach Keiko, reaching out for the ghost. “But I can’t just leave you like-”

The second Hikari’s hand made contact with Keiko’s shoulder, she began to pass through with the same chill she experienced in her dreams. It was something she had expected, even braced herself for, but what she didn’t predict was how the Light would react. The cut flared brilliantly, bright enough that even FlaWizarmon, Witchmon, and Monodramon saw it as it coiled around Hikari’s wrist then disappeared into her skin. When the light was gone, Keiko stood as whole as a ghost could manage.

Nyamon gave a blink as she stared at Keiko, then Hikari, before returning her gaze to her partner. After a moment’s hesitation, her expression grew wry. “Seems she proved us wrong again, Keiko.”

Keiko let out a quiet chuckle that was a breath of cool air as she watched Hikari stare at the hand that absorbed the Light. The sound grew and grew until full blown laughter that had her hugging herself as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

“K… Keiko?” Hikari asked slowly, now growing concerned for a different reason.

“S-sorry,” Keiko managed to say between giggles as she wiped her eyes, a tinge of sadness tainting her mirth. “It’s just… I couldn’t help it. It’s just so… so _stupid_!”

“Stupid…?” Hikari repeated.

Keiko let out another burst of giggles before she continued. “I was acting stupid! I treated you… like all those stupid Digimon treated me.” She threw her arms out to her sides, brushing them against her skirt in the process and causing it to flutter about her. “ _Everyone_ underestimated me until I showed them I could do the impossible too!”

For a moment, Hikari let that sink in, before a small giggle escaped her in spite of herself. “It’s okay. I can’t say I _ever_ expect any of the impossible things I do.”

“Exactly!” Keiko proclaimed, her smile the brightest Hikari had ever seen it. “We’re an impossible force of nature that shouldn’t exist, _but we still do_! We’re the impossible made possible, so there’s nothing stopping us from doing _anything!_ ” She paused to shake her head with another short bout of chuckling. “I can’t believe I forgot that.”

Hikari sensed there was more to Keiko’s revelation than just the cut of light she removed, but she didn’t dare voice her suspicions. Instead she just appreciated the spark of life that had returned to the dead girl’s eyes.

“Maybe after we do the impossible and save Ryo from the Dark Ocean _and_ Zeed, you can help Mama and Papa wake up,” Keiko said, her smile remaining even as her tone took a slightly more somber turn.

“Mama and Papa?” Taichi asked, his expression contorting in confusion.

That question made Keiko’s expression shift to something odd that only Mimi noticed looked like embarrassment before it slid back into a neutral mask as she straightened up her posture. “Tenraimon and Narakumon.” A beat later, when the confusion lingered over the others, she continued. “They-”

“Mama Tenraimon and Papa Narakumon,” Witchmon said gently, unintentionally talking over Keiko, her eyes soft and gaze distant. “They adopted Keiko not long after she first came to the Digital World. That’s who she’s talking about.”

“Oh,” Mimi murmured. “That’s so… so sad.” She looked at Keiko again, focusing on how she could see straight through the Chosen of Darkness. “You… they… lost so much.”

“Depends on who ya ask,” FlaWizarmon said, with a weak chuckle. “I’d say that the day she was adopted was the happiest day of Keiko’s life.” He paused before he looked at the ground. “...Though maybe if it had never happened, she’d still…”

Keiko’s expression deadpanned, and she turned towards Miyako. “Smack FlaWizarmon’s hat off for me, please.”

“Wait, what?” Koshiro asked, startled. He was even more surprised to see Miyako casually shrug and do exactly what Keiko requested.

FlaWizarmon yelped as he jerked forward, his hat falling on the ground. He blinked as he stared down at the hat before he glanced to Miyako, giving her a weak grin. “Let me guess. Keiko?”

Miyako smirked and nodded as she held up her hands innocently. “Yup. I’m just the messenger.”

FlaWizarmon reached down to pick up his hat before placing it back on his head, his smile still weak as his eyes watered. He paused before he reached up to wipe at his eyes. “She really is here.”

Witchmon managed a small giggle, filled with more moisture than mirth as she smiled at FlaWizarmon. “You’re lucky Keiko had to outsource that, or you’d be getting an earful now for talking like that.”

“I reckon I got off easy,” FlaWizarmon said lightly.

“For now,” Nyamon said.

Keiko made a noise that might have been clearing her throat, but it came out odd, more spoken than an actual natural sound. “As I was saying, Mama… _Tenraimon_ is asleep. She put herself to sleep and redirected her energy to P… _Narakumon_ so he could run the Digital World by himself. This was to keep Zeed from tapping into her directly and draining her dry, maybe even killing her.”

The news was a disturbing one that left all of the Chosen feeling uneasy, but most especially Hikari who clutched her shirt. “It’s because of the orb, isn’t it? Because of m-”

“Because of _Zeed_!” Keiko snapped fiercely, steamrollering right over Hikari’s guilt. “We _all_ trusted Gennai. It was a trap made _specifically_ for Ma… Tenraimon. It’s not the first one, either.”

“It’s just the only one that succeeded,” Hikari mumbled in spite of herself.

“No, actually,” Keiko said before poking Hikari in the forehead to make the other Chosen Child shiver from the sudden shock of cold and pay more attention to her. “But that’s not important. What’s important is that Papa…” She paused for a moment, her expression twisting in frustration before she let out an aggravated huff without air as she finally gave up. “ _Papa_ can’t run the Digital World by himself, so he’s been breaking down.”

“What do you mean breaking down?” Koshiro asked, a cold dread pooling in his gut. “What does it mean for the Digital World?”

“We’re all dead if we can’t fix this,” Keiko said, her voice a low toll of a funeral bell that reverberated through each and every Chosen. “If we don’t repair the damage done to Papa and Mama and wake them up again. They’ll degrade, and the Digital World will collapse without their support, taking the Earth with it.”

“Baihumon was right,” Takeru said, his voice like a breath. “Something _has_ happened to Narakumon.”

“What can we do?” Yamato asked. “What can we do to fix this!?”

“What you’re doing now,” Nyamon said. “Getting Ryo away from Zeed. That’s the first step.”

Keiko nodded, a ghost of a smile reappearing on her face that grew into a fierce grin of determination. “We _are_ going to fix this. All of this.” She made a sweeping gesture to the Dark World around her. “We’re going to do what we do best: the impossible.”

Miyako couldn’t help but match Keiko’s nearly manic grin with one of her own. “Finally, someone who talks sense. I like you already.”

“You heard the lady!” Kudamon said as she flew in circles above the group. “No more wasting time gossiping, Operation Rescue Ryo From The Perv is a go!”

Keiko gave a sharp nod to Miyako before she glanced at the other Chosen Children, her eyes blazing with a strength that they didn’t have before. “We’re going to save Ryo _and_ finally stop Zeed for good!”


End file.
